Neglected with No Social Protection: The Plight of Sex Workers during COVID-19 in South Africa

Abstract

This study aims to shed new light on the sex industry by questioning the lack of government assistance for female sex workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and looking at their rights from a feminist perspective. The study employed the conflict theory to understand the manifestation of sex work as a profession and its associated drivers. It used a phenomenological approach to understand the lived experiences of sex workers in their own words. A sample of 11 female commercial sex workers operating in the towns of the uMhlathuze Local Municipality, South Africa, was interviewed. The study found that assistance from government and non-government organisations was available. Still, sex workers had no access to it due to their occupation falling outside the legal beneficiary framework. During the pandemic, the criminalisation of commercial sex work exacerbated poverty, inequality, and socio-economic desperation among those in the profession. The study recommends that government strengthens resources to support sex workers and introduce safety net programs to restore livelihoods and dignity in criminalised settings. Various interventions are required to change the legal framework regarding sex work and view the profession from a legalised, regulated and as valid occupation.

1. Introduction

The selling and buying of sexual services is criminalised in South Africa. The criminalising provisions are contained in two separate laws: the Sexual Offences Act, 1957 and the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, 2007. Various municipal by-laws are also applied to directly or indirectly remove or prosecute those who partake in sex work. However, this has not deterred people from participating in this industry as a livelihood strategy. Konstant et al. (2015) estimate that there are between 131,000 and 182,000 sex workers in South Africa, equating to between 0.76 and 1% of the adult population. In Gauteng alone, Alfreds (2017) reveals that there are between 31,000 and 94,000 sex workers. Poverty, unemployment, and the lack of education have been seen as the primary drivers pushing people to participate in sex work.

South Africa’s response to the pandemic revolved around regulations framed on levels 1 to 5. Level 1 indicated low COVID-19 spread, with high health system readiness, meaning most normal activity could resume for as long as precautions and health guidelines were adhered to. Level 2 showed a moderate COVID-19 spread with high health system readiness, meaning there were effective physical distancing and restrictions on leisure and social activities to prevent the resurgence of the virus. Level 3 meant a moderate COVID-19 spread with moderate health system readiness, meaning there were restrictions on many activities, including at workplaces and socially, to address a high risk of transmission. Level 4 indicated a moderate to high COVID-19 spread with low to moderate health system readiness, with extreme precautions to limit community transmission and outbreak while allowing some activities to resume. Finally, level 5 portrayed a high COVID-19 spread with low health system readiness; therefore, drastic measures had to be taken to contain the spread of the virus. The illegality of sex work, coupled with these laws, meant sex workers had to work around these laws, hide from law enforcement, pay bribes, risk being harassed by clients, risk being arrested and, finally, face the risk of being killed.

The pandemic exposed the vulnerability of sex workers in times of crisis, which was exacerbated by the lack of state support. At the same time, even though provisions such as the Temporary Employment Relief Scheme (TERS) and the Social Relief of Distress Grant (SRD Grant) pegged at R350 monthly were made available by the government (Isaacs 2020; Human 2021). The TERS targeted people in formal employment, while the SRD grant needed one to have documentation (e.g, ID document) to be able to apply. Therefore, with many sex workers operating outside the legal framework and not having the needed documentation, there was an increased likelihood of them being excluded from such support. The unprecedented spread and social-economic devastation inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic has broken the social fabric that binds society together. Sadly, women and young girls have felt the brunt of the pandemic (Nesamoney et al. 2021; Thibaut and van Wijngaarden-Cremers 2020; Cousins 2020). Female sex workers (FSWs), who fall outside the scope of government support programs, were deserted entirely during the COVID-19 crisis.

Burgos and Del Pino (2021) found that, despite lockdown regulations, sex workers were left with no option but to contravene COVID-19 regulations as a coping strategy to sustain their livelihoods. In some parts of the United States, many sex workers did not benefit from the social support provided by the government (Singer et al. 2020). In some parts of the world, such as Japan, sex workers were supported by the government with financial aid to cope with the pandemic’s effects. Sex worker agencies received stimulus packages to sustain the industry, although this did not take away the persistent suffering-related stigma (Yeung et al. 2020; Woods 2020). The governments of Germany and the Netherlands have fully legalised the sex work industry, legitimising sex workers. However, some limitations hinder inclusive institutional support, such as social protection programs for those deserving individuals in the industry. However, this means that sex work is legal, but unlicensed brothels, pimping, and street-level sex sales are illegal. In the licenced areas of sex work, such as brothels, their status helped cushion the economic devastation during the pandemic. However, there are persistent challenges to improving working conditions in the industry. (Raymond 2004; Rana 2020; Cubides Kovacsics et al. 2022). Some researchers, such as Joulaei et al. (2021), believe that decriminalising sex work is one of the legal approaches to reducing stigma in public institutions, including healthcare and religious spaces. This approach allows sex workers to engage in commercial sex without fear of prosecution. The Dutch have gone to great lengths to legitimise sex work as a profession and permit the government to regulate labour-related matters (Morrison 2020; Brown 2022).

Some efforts have been made to address the long-term impact caused by the pandemic, including challenging the stigma and discrimination faced by those in the sex industry, which is seen as the most significant impediment hindering access to social support programs (this notwithstanding the regulation and legalisation debates). Globally, Heikkilä (2019) reflects that the marginalisation of sex workers leaves education out of sex workers’ reach. Thus, combining these factors ultimately pushes vulnerable people to sex work. This was further supported by the conflict theory, which contends that the lack of education and economic opportunities is at the centre of people choosing sex work as a profession. Some scholars such as Dylewski and Prokop (2019) argue that prostitution and sex work is not a contemporary profession, but rather the world’s oldest hidden profession to have been practised in societies.

This suggests that services are reorganised and adapted to reach out to sex workers in their spaces and advocate for their rights (Benoit and Unsworth 2022). Indeed, Feeney (2015) argues that sex work must be detached from the stereotype of unethical practice because, with the appropriate working conditions, it can function just like any other line of work. Moreover, if women or men opt to make their bodies a business without restrictions, this means that services for sex must be legally protected to ensure their fundamental human rights.

For many poor, black, unskilled women in South Africa, entering the sex industry is not a natural choice. Instead, it provides immediate employment and a means to take care of their families (Simons 2017). When the pandemic gained ground in South Africa, there was uncertainty about how the government would mitigate the effects of the pandemic using an inclusive approach that would accommodate the informal sector, more specifically, the sex industry.

For this study, the sample was centred around female sex workers. This was driven by the observation that despite males and transgender people taking part in sex work, they are mainly hidden and operate via escort agencies, whereas, in many cities and towns in South Africa (including the uMhlathuze Local Municipality), it is mainly females who participate in sex work (in the streets). Hence, the focus was on females as the unit of analysis for this study.

2. Materials and Methods

The study was conducted in uMhlathuze Local Municipality, situated within the King Cetshwayo District in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province in South Africa, which is the third largest Municipality in the province. This is the biggest local Municipality out of the six municipalities in the King Cetshwayo District. The study area is characterised as an industrial zone, with rapid development dominated by informal businesses and industries. Before the data collection commenced, the study was approved by the university’s research ethics committee (Ref: UMP/Masuku/FEDBS/2021).

The study adopted a qualitative research approach, offered an exploratory perspective on the victimhood of FSWs, and provided insight as to whether they were recipients of any aid during the pandemic. This approach provided an in-depth understanding of FSWs’ perspectives, attitudes, and behaviour patterns, which other modes of research could not have fully captured. The researchers used the purposive sampling technique to recruit 11 FSWs (between August and November 2021). The FSWs were recruited at their place of work, an open space next to scrub and bushes in the towns Empangeni and Richards Bay, and the fieldwork was conducted during the day because it was a relaxed time for them.

Having lived in the uMhlathuze Local Municipality, the researchers were aware of the FSWs operating within the towns that make up the Municipality. Hence, the FSWs were approached, and the researchers explained the goals and objectives of the study and subsequently asked the FSWs to participate. Consent was granted, and it was explained to them that they had the right to withdraw from the study should they feel the need to do so, and that the information provided would be confidential. Consent was granted to use a tape recorder to record the interviews. It is essential to note that the researchers are not involved in the sex industry. Therefore, positioning themselves from an analysis point of view was based on research objectivity and the need to reflect the plight of FSWs.

Semi-structured interviews were used to hear the voices and perspectives of FSWs about their experiences in terms of any assistance from the government or non-government organisations during the pandemic. The transcripts of the semi-structured interviews were transcribed precisely from the audio recordings. The researchers went through all the semi-structured interview transcripts, identified recurring themes, looked for similarities, differences, and meanings between themes, and grouped them together. The results were coded according to the participant’s responses to each question using the ATLAS.ti 8 analytical software package. The analysis considered the themes generated, the arguments, and narratives from the current literature concerning sex work, COVID-19, and the current debates for the legalisation of the profession. After the data were transcribed, the themes were generated and analysed to reflect on the stories of the FSWs. The analysis compared arguments in the literature for a more detailed and inclusive analysis.

3. Theoretical Framework

This paper employs conflict theory as a theoretical lens. The theory argues that society or organisations function because each individual or group struggles to maximise their benefits, which inevitably contributes to social change, such as changes in politics and revolutions. For the theory, prostitution reflects economic inequality in society. A primary goal of individuals in society is to have control over their lives. One aspect of that control is having enough money to care for oneself. Within the context of sex work, the theory contends that to maximise their monetary intake (benefit), individuals tend to sell the thing they have readily available, which in this case is their bodies. Because of this supposed power individuals have, governments have had to intervene and outlaw sex work or prostitution.

Within the context of sex work, the theory reflects that many prostitutes are young, poor, and uneducated women. Often, prostitution is a survival tactic for these women since they cannot earn money due to their poverty and lack of education (Cusick 2002). Due to the lack of education and limited job opportunities for women, many vulnerable women are forced to turn to prostitution to feed their families and themselves. The assumptions of the theory resonate with the results of this study. The participants cited the need to feed their families and that the lack of formal employment forces them to see sex work as a means of generating income. Even before the pandemic, sex workers were discriminated against and alienated from society; thus, conflict theory describes a polarised society where a combination of factors pushes people to partake in sex work. Often these factors are economic. This study articulated that in South Africa, unemployment, poverty, and rising inequality have contributed to a drop in the standard of living, increasing the pressure on people to seek alternate ways to ensure survival.

Khan et al. (2010) claim that poverty is the primary driving force behind women becoming prostitutes. During the pandemic, sex workers were concerned about staying healthy and avoiding poverty, just like every other insecure worker. In South Africa, there is an unemployment and economic crisis, and most sex workers in South Africa are black and female and sell sex primarily to support their dependents. Economically, black females are at the bottom of the South African economy due to several systematic exclusions (Mokgonyapa 2022). Moreover, the government has failed to provide adequate financial security for many of these women. Therefore, considering the context of this study, the conflict theory resonates with the study’s findings. Poverty, the need to earn an income, and the lack of education are among the key factors that push people to participate in sex work. Hence, sex work becomes the available alternative when there are no other forms of employment.

4. Results

It was expected that the spread of the pandemic globally would have severe repercussions on the country’s quest for inclusive socio-economic development. However, it was unexpected that the arrival of the pandemic in South Africa would result in the exclusion of certain people from receiving state support/aid based on their sector of occupation, regardless of the legality/illegality question.

The authors argue that immediately after South Africa’s political transition in 1994, the newly elected government communicated that every South African, regardless of race, would play a role in developing a new South Africa built on inclusivity. When the pandemic gained ground in the country, the government communicated that no one would be left behind in the quest to protect people’s livelihoods, and one assumed that sex workers, including FSWs, were also not to be neglected. Undoubtedly, the neglect of sex workers and those in the informal sector did not resonate with the government’s aim of ensuring that no one gets left behind in the quest to curb the spread of the virus.

4.1. A ‘Cat-and-Mouse Game’ with Law Enforcement, Bribery, and Submission

Sex workers in South Africa were severely affected by the lockdowns, which aimed to prevent the spread of the virus. The government ordered a temporary shutdown of all businesses except those that were rendering essential services, and people were encouraged not to move out of their residential areas. The FSWs interviewed reported successful and unsuccessful attempts to evade law enforcement to regain control of their operations during lockdowns. FSWs raised their concern that a weak economy and a country characterised by patriarchy limited their scope of economic opportunities, with some viewing sex work as a means of survival. Therefore, social and economic difficulties made it impossible for the participants to suspend their trade in compliance with the lockdown restrictions.

These circumstances made a ‘cat-and-mouse’ situation with law enforcement a significant cause for concern for FSWs. The participants reported that, in most cases, to avoid a cat-and-mouse situation, they had to bribe law enforcement officers with a minimum amount of ZAR 500.00 to avoid being taken to the prison holding cells, which left them with nothing to survive.

“I, personally, the way I have been surviving was through sex work without any options. However, knowing that I was not allowed to be on the street during curfew hours, I had to hide from law enforcement and change our usual spaces to conduct our business.”

—Interviewee 2

The participants reported that law enforcement was brutal. Some sex workers were severely injured, while others reported being raped by police officers. This shows a dilemma of conflicting needs: the need to generate an income to support themselves (FSWs) and their households versus the expectation to comply with the lockdown restrictions. This was balanced by taking non-compliance risks, although the police actions constituted a significant risk to their lives. The participants admitted that the cat-and-mouse situation was not always successful for them, as many female sex workers were subjected to police violence and forced to participate in bribery.

Although bribery was a way of circumventing the law enforcement restrictions, it sometimes failed to work in favour of the FSWs, as they would sometimes not get clients. Most of them had to endure the beatings and harassment but returned to work after the episode.

“The harassment was through the beatings with a sjambok (the sjambok or litupa is a heavy leather whip).”

—Interviewee 3

The FSWs’ endurance in the face of the beatings and harassment described emphasised the excessive socio-economic desperation they experienced. They were, unfortunately, taken advantage of by law enforcement officers. This means that, in South Africa, sex workers are often the target of police violence and human rights violation, and that the violation of sex workers’ human rights is systemic, pervasive, and entrenched. Despite these challenges, some FSWs noted that they were able to get on with their trade.

4.2. Insufficient Government Support

With no support forthcoming, civil society organisations stepped in to fill this vacuum and represented the interests of sex workers, becoming a critical support structure. These organisations were able to support the FSWs by providing condoms, hand sanitisers, masks, contraceptives, and other essential facilities needed by them. This kind of support was significant, considering that many FSWs in the uMhlathuze area were street-based sex workers and were more exposed to the pandemic because of their low profile. Having said that, Interviewees 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 were among those who could get the government’s ZAR 350 COVID-19 social relief grant, although this was not because they were sex workers. Interviewee 7, however, indicated that this amount was not adequate for her basic needs, as it only partially reduced her monthly income versus expenditure gap:

“Now I will be able to buy frozen chicken braai pack (an assortment of braai meats or chicken pieces) and mealie meal (a relatively coarse flour made from maize, a staple food in southern Africa). All my other needs were not met, like my rent and school fees for my child, and I also need to buy my child foodstuffs.”

—Interviewee 7

In Interviewee 7’s view, the social grant was quite helpful in meeting some of her basic needs:

“I appreciate this grant as a citizen, although we receive it very late after long queues, and this little money keeps you going in life. Remember, we do not get this money because we are sex workers, and I do not understand why, because we are all humans. We don’t rob or kill anybody, hence it is hard to understand why we are neglected because it is not like we are not looking for formal employment, but we simply just can’t find jobs.”

—Interviewee 7

Another form of support resorted to was from NGOs, as narrated by Interviewee 1:

“Some NGOs are mobile, they are always with us in difficult times, and some have offices in town. They helped us with food parcels and sanitary towels during the pandemic. It became clear that without them, our livelihoods would have been difficult as we would have never been able to cope with government regulations and lack of state support.”

—Interviewee 1

Interviewee 2 reported positive experiences with the interventions of some NGOs, who had provided them with food parcels, while one of the interviewees had benefitted from a local municipality in terms of food hamper donations:

“As for me, I received a food voucher from the municipality, although they were limited to 27 people. Fortunately, I was among those who benefitted.”

—Interviewee 7

Interviewee 3 was assisted by her neighbours:

“It was hard; my neighbours helped me. They sometimes gave me food to eat for almost three days, I did not tell them what I do for a living to avoid being judged and shunned by society, I had to lie and say I was laid off from work owing to COVID-19.”

—Interviewee 3

The above demonstrates that the support met varying needs among the FSWs. Although there were commonalities in that they were not adequate in resolving the newly created income gaps, they were cited as acts of goodwill that helped them to cope to differing extents.

4.3. Change in Client Engagement Methods

To cope with the COVID-19 restrictions, the FSWs also changed how they engaged with their clients. According to Interviewees 1 and 2, one of the changes involved engaging clients in their homes and this was most effective for clients with cars or transport.

“We also meet either at their place of choice or their homes either during the day or night.”

—Interviewee 1

Interviewee 1 also indicated that she clandestinely resorted to offering services at a tavern (an establishment where alcoholic beverages are sold for consumption on the premises) that was operating illegally during the lockdown period.

Another interviewee discussed how she went online in response to the lockdown restrictions, which was an alternative to engaging with her clients. Some participants used a sex website called Red Velvet to reach their clients or opted for telephonic sex. However, the online trade had some challenges, such as client payments. Electronic funds transfer (EFT) was not the best payment option to pay the participants; some clients would process the payment and, when done with the participants, would cancel the payment. Another challenge was that most clients were unfamiliar with online sex activities, which harmed sex workers in sustaining their livelihoods.

“Well, there is a website called Red Velvet where we post nudes to advertise and market to our potential clients.”

—Interviewee 8

Some of the participants indicated that the online sex activities worked for them during the pandemic, and they were able to make some money; however, some sex workers were unable to stop in-person services.

4.4. Resorting to Crime as a Means for Survival and Survivalist Businesses as a Coping Mechanism

Even though there was strong advocacy within South Africa for the government to adopt a humanitarian approach to FSWs, the legality of the sector and stigma prevented the government from protecting the welfare of those in the sex industry. The participants confirmed that there was a lack of government support for sex workers during the pandemic and opted to do criminal activities. Interviewees 1 and 4 explained that they witnessed some of their colleagues turning to criminality in response to the harsh conditions they faced during the pandemic. Many of the participants resorted to criminal activities, such as colluding with gangsters who were involved in violent crime, including car robbery, shoplifting and housebreaking. Some participants viewed criminal activities in this context as a coping mechanism to earn a living.

Some interviewees identified survivalist entrepreneurship as a coping mechanism to deal with the pandemic’s income-reducing effects. As a result of the lockdowns, those with rudimentary entrepreneurial and menial skills attempted to use them to cover their income–expenditure deficits. Some participants revealed that they opted to sell vegetables on the streets and others used their hair plaiting skills to generate income. However, they indicated that this was not ‘quick cash’, and it was less compared to the income made from the sex industry.

For Interviewee 3, however, the same menial chores and survivalist opportunities that were available to others seemed elusive, as the market also shunned them for fear of contracting COVID-19:

“It was hard! There was no other way because no one opened, even if you wanted to knock at someone’s door to do laundry. After all, there is COVID-19. They are afraid of COVID-19.”

—Interviewee 3

Interviewee 3 also highlighted a desperate situation where she could not even afford and could not get support for the meagre activities that could have uplifted her out of the income–expenditure crisis created by the pandemic. Additionally, as discussed, survivalist activities were not the preferred economic choices among these FSWs, with some, like Interviewee 11, having quit them to join their current trade because of their low income. Nonetheless, during the pandemic, they provided an economic outlet several FSWs did not have. Many indicated that besides sex work, they had no other income-generating activity they could do. In South Africa, while we acknowledge the establishment of the ZAR 350 monthly grant, we argue that all those in need did not receive it and that for FWSs, some did not have the documentation needed to apply for it. Most important was the identity document (ID), which many FSWs did not have, thus depriving them of the monthly grant.

5. Discussion

Female sex workers emphasised their right to live as they choose. The pandemic aggravated the loss of income for many sex workers, leading to the loss of shelter and the inability to access food, medication, and other necessities. Many FSWs described feelings of powerlessness and isolation and how they were in a vulnerable situation during the pandemic in the absence of support from the government. The FSWs found themselves without clients immediately after the lockdown policy was imposed globally, and, to make matters worse, they were excluded from the government social support packages.

The neglect of FSWs was not peculiar to South Africa alone, as the illegality of sex work meant they were less likely to be considered for state support than those in the formal working sector. Adebisi et al. (2020) noted that sex workers were excluded from ‘safety nets’ by African governments, and this forced sex workers to work despite the COVID-19 pandemic. This study asserts that strong cultural and traditional values, coupled with discrimination and stigmatisation, meant sex workers in Africa would always be neglected despite the attempts of NGOs to pressure governments into supporting them.

In Uganda, when the pandemic increased, the government banned all public gatherings; as a result, increased policing to enforce lockdown heightened the violence meted out on sex workers because state enforcers do not anticipate consequences for assaulting sex workers (Namubiru et al. 2020). In Nigeria, sex workers revealed how their exclusion from government safety nets forced them to disregard any COVID-19 regulations (Adebisi et al. 2020). In Ethiopia, sex workers argued that lack of state support was detrimental to efforts to stop child sexual exploitation. They were falling short and then were interrupted by the impact of COVID-19. Outreach efforts and police raids to find children trapped in the sex trade stopped in April in some parts of Amhara, as authorities were focused on enforcing a COVID-19 state of emergency (Wuilbercq 2020).

Furthermore, Boyer (2020) argues that commercial sex workers, particularly women, were rarely recognised as a vulnerable group during the pandemic, despite being subject to gender-based violence and being denied access to safety net services. However, in some countries, such as Germany and the Netherlands, where sex work is either legalised or decriminalised (albeit tightly regulated), violence among commercial sex workers has not disappeared altogether, especially towards those operating in unlicensed brothels (Raymond 2004). However, Joulaei et al. (2021) support decriminalisation as a tool to enhance respect for sex workers’ rights and reduce and control violence and human trafficking motivated by prostitution.

The plight of sex workers in Africa was exposed by the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP), which launched a global survey to understand the impact of COVID-19 on sex workers. The survey received 156 responses in total from 55 different countries, of which 22 responses were from 13 countries—Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Togo, Tunisia, and Zambia—in the Africa region (Global Network of Sex Work Projects 2020b). The results revealed that, even though in some countries sex work was legal in some form, discrimination towards sex work as a profession alienated sex workers in times of crisis. In Southern Africa, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) found that during the pandemic, 49% of sex workers experienced police violence (including sexual violence), while 36% reported arbitrary arrests (Global Network of Sex Work Projects 2020a).

In Europe, sex workers have been dramatically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated measures. Ignored by most governments and excluded from economic support programs, sex workers were left to fend for themselves. Under government COVID-19 financial support in the UK, self-employed people could claim up to 80% of their usual profits. This applied to sex workers, but only if they had registered as self-employed before the pandemic (LGBT Foundation 2021). In 2002, legislation in Germany legalised and regulated prostitution in Germany, meaning that sex workers were obliged to register for a license to operate in order to be eligible for institutional support such as social protection programmes. In a legalised setting, a legal market for services is restricted by licensing, the operation of brothels, and their management. This legal framework asserts that sex workers are society members, guaranteeing their human rights (Joulaei et al. 2021).

In the Netherlands, those who were officially registered with the government were eligible for economic relief. Scotland also included sex workers in its relief programs. In Greece, where prostitution is legal and regulated, brothels were allowed to reopen on 15 June 2020 if sex workers kept their clients’ names and contact details for four weeks for tracing purposes (Bubola 2020).

In the Asia Pacific, sex workers reported having limited access to contraceptives and lubricants and reduced access to harm-reduction resources. Lockdowns also disrupted STI or HIV testing services, limiting sex workers’ access to necessary healthcare (Banerjje and Burke 2022). In North America, sex workers were excluded from the government’s recovery response. Furthermore, many began offering online services to sustain themselves. In Latin America, state support was absent, driven by issues relating to discrimination, stigma, and a legal landscape that criminalizes sex work.

A respondent to a survey undertaken by the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (2020a) communicated that:

“Our society is indifferent and its lack of response to our sector makes us see inequities, insensitivity... SEX WORK IS NOT RECOGNISED AS WORK.”

—Sex worker organisation, Ecuador

Another respondent highlighted that:

“We are invisible, we do not have access to health unless it is COVID-19—today is when they are doing more raids on us.”

—Sex worker organisation, El Salvador

The above deliberation highlights one crucial element: sex workers were left to fend for their own. Passos and Almeida-Santos (2020) note that the pandemic changed how the sex industry operates. Pornographic actors, escorts, exotic dancers, and professional dominatrices—at least those with access to the internet and a private workspace—are shifting toward virtual sexual services. However, street prostitution is one of the most dangerous professions in the world, and those on the streets are unlikely to have access to the internet or even understand how online sex work operates, thus forcing them to be on the streets. According to research conducted in Seattle, Washington, some female sex workers were forced to resort to virtual sex and sex with home deliveries after 7000 brothels were shut down due to lockdown regulations (Boyer 2020). This situation forced sex workers to engage in risky sexual activities, and those homeless were paid less, resulting in them struggling to meet their basic needs. In South Africa, a study conducted by Ground UP found that sex workers in Jeppestown, Johannesburg, struggled to survive the COVID-19 curfew, and the ban on alcohol and frequent police raids were the primary cause (Mutandiro 2021). The closure of bars and other adult entertainment areas left sex workers struggling to get clients because of the restricted movements, where every citizen was expected to be off the street before 9 pm, except for essential workers who were on duty. Compounding their economic suffering, the lack of support perpetuated government ambivalence towards the needs of sex workers, and they developed coping strategies such as being street vendors and domestic workers. For Nyabeze et al. (2022) and Feeney (2015), there is nothing wrong with those who do sex work, and those involved in the industry should be afforded the same sort of rights other workers are given. Using the conflict theory argument, sex work indirectly pressures the government to improve socioeconomic conditions, create employment, and introduce a legal framework that the Nordic model informs to ensure that women and girls are not exploited.

Nelson et al. (2020) argue that while many of the occupations deemed essential are experienced as degrading, inadequately remunerated, or insufficiently flexible, sex work remains an attractive occupation for many women, men, and gender-diverse people who either lack access to less stigmatised labour opportunities or find the stigma of sex work to be outweighed by other benefits. In South East Asia, the Empower Foundation says women in the sex industry were suffering the most from the pandemic’s repercussions—a reported 60% were single mothers who are their family’s primary providers and have been forced into sex work by a lack of opportunities (Minxi 2020). In Thailand, the sex industry contributes 4% to 10% of the GDP, but the workers have no rights. Because prostitution is illegal in Thailand, as in most of Asia, sex workers were excluded from the government’s unemployment aid (Minxi 2020).

The results show that female sex workers lamented the lack of education and employment opportunities. Driven by the need to put food on the table, sex workers risk their lives through the risks associated with sex work. The conflict theory relates how the lack of education and employment contributes to one taking part in sex work. The desperate need to survive meant FSWs were willing to contravene lockdown regulations and risk the possibility of arrest to generate income, thus supporting the arguments of conflict theory. The results of this study coincide with the theory’s assumption, with unemployment and lack of education being the centre for those who take part in the profession. We contend that South Africa’s government can benefit from observing how other nations have regulated sex work from a human rights perspective. Furthermore, the study argues that South Africa could use the Swedish government’s legal framework to address the illegality of the industry by decriminalising the purchase of sexual services while leaving the sale of sex unpunished, and—critical in the case of the Swedish government’s approach—commercial sex was abolished, because they adopted the popular Act on Sex Purchase in 1999. However, the decriminalisation of sex work does not guarantee the safety and eradicate the suffering of sex workers (Vuolajärvi 2019). The experiences of sex workers during the pandemic serve as a wake-up call for the government to accelerate the decriminalisation (with tight regulation) of the entire sex industry without women and girls being treated as commodities but creating space for the freedom of sex workers to operate individually and voluntarily collectively.

6. Conclusions

The pandemic has exposed the failures of the government to protect the most vulnerable groups, including sex workers in criminalised settings. The study concludes that sex work is viewed from a variety of perspectives and is frequently governed by complex legal frameworks at a global level. Even though sex work is one of the issues where the world is still divided on whether to decriminalise or legalise, the evidence from this paper indicates that governance of the sex work industry is still a dilemma that requires urgent attention from all agencies, especially from a human rights framework. Our findings indicate that sex workers in South Africa are systematically discriminated against and stigmatised, are most vulnerable to violence, and receive less institutional support and protection from the government. The study confirmed that the criminalisation of sex work increased law enforcement violence against sex workers during the pandemic. The pandemic has exposed the growing repression of sex workers, who faced multiple barriers to accessing health services and social relief of distress grants despite the socio-economic devastation caused by the pandemic. It also threatened their access to basic needs such as food. This study recommends that South Africa should involve all relevant stakeholders, including NPOs, traditional leaders, sex worker-led organisations and religious leaders, in developing a framework that would provide adequate protection and support that is underpinned by human rights principles. Despite its illegality, the government must take steps to enhance the protection of sex workers and transform the status of sex work as a profession.