Back when she was 19 years old, Connie Mathe didn't consider herself a sex worker until a new friend pointed it out.

Mathe, a single mother of two struggling to make ends meet, was dating a married man who rented an apartment for her in an affluent Cape Town suburb. 

The friend, a sex worker herself, told Mathe: "That's not a boyfriend, that's sex work. He only comes to have sex with you, bring you food and pay the rent."

Mathe had already tried working in retail, hospitality and in a call center, but it was never enough to cover her bills.

But by taking up full-time sex work, she thought at the time, she could be independent from her boyfriend; it promised greater financial security and autonomy. 

With the money came danger

The work turned out to be dangerous, marked by constant police harassment and weekly raids, Mathe says.

Once she was arrested for operating a brothel. During the arrest, she says, officers forced her to strip and sexually assaulted her.

Upon her release, Mathe says she found someone had stolen her savings. She blames the police but has no way of proving it.

The arrest eventually led her to the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT), South Africa's leading sex workers' rights organization.

Mathe is now a national coordinator at the Asijiki Coalition, which advocates for the decriminalization of sex work in South Africa.

Why decriminalize sex work? 

Though paying and accepting money for sex is illegal in South Africa, SWEAT estimates the country has some 150,000 sex workers.

SWEAT representative Megan Lessing told DW this is based on a 2013 study, which also estimated that 90% of sex workers were women. But Lessing believes that number to be closer to 80% today.

Importantly, sex work refers only to the consensual provision of sexual services between adults for money, goods or favors, according to the Global Network of Sex Work Projects.

Proponents for decriminalizing sex work point to people like Connie Mathe. They argue "sex work is work" — the industry is not inherently dangerous, but the criminalization and stigmatization of sex work make it so. Proponents also say decriminalization will reduce trafficking.

In 2021, South African researchers said about 70% of sex workers in South Africa experienced physical violence. Nearly 60% had been raped, while one in seven had been raped by policemen. The study found these violent crimes are rarely reported for fear of arrest or harassment.

Stigmatizing sex workers has led to them being disproportionately affected by HIV. While South Africa has made considerable strides in fighting the virus, the country still has the world's largest national HIV epidemic, according to UNAIDS.

SWEAT says instances where police arrest sex workers for having condoms as "evidence of sex work" undermines South African policies.

Activists and health professionals say sex workers seeking medical help often face mockery and contempt.

The case against decriminalizing sex work

In early September 2025, a Western Cape High Court judge ruled that 16 NGOs could argue in a case regarding the question of whether to decriminalize sex work. Fourteen are in favor of decriminalization. Two, including the Cause for Justice (CFJ), are against it, and the Western Cape High Court is bracing for a massive trial. 

The CFJ stands for what it calls family values, and says the case is a matter of "fundamental human dignity." The NGO refers to sex work as prostitution, which it says "constitutes the commodification of the human body, reducing people to commercial sex objects for the gratification of predatory individuals."

The CFJ wants sex work to remain criminalized on the grounds that it is degrading towards women, promotes sex trafficking, leads to child prostitution, significantly increases the risk of transmitting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and is a cause of public nuisance.

That sex work is inherently dehumanizing also appears in feminist debates, where it is viewed as an extreme form of gender-based violence and represents the complete exploitation of women's bodies.

Advocates for decriminalization, in contrast, say this view undermines their bodily autonomy.

Dual legal strategy 

In 2022, the Department of Justice published the Decriminalization Bill, which would repeal laws that criminalize sex work.

But the bill remains stalled in the parliamentary process due to proposed content expansions, opposition from critics, and shifts in government leadership.

SWEAT representative Lessing tells DW urgency and political will have faltered.

While SWEAT continues to push for the Decriminalization Bill, it is now pursuing what Lessing calls a "dual strategy," where the organization also protests the constitutionality of laws targeting sex workers.

SWEAT's legal team asserts that the criminalization of sex work is unconstitutional as it pertains to the right to freedom and security, right of access to justice, right of access to fair labor practices and right to health care.

In a major triumph in August 2025, SWEAT was able to secure a national moratorium on the prosecution of sex workers until the trial in front of the Western Cape High Court begins.

A global issue

South Africa is not the only country grappling with the appropriate legislation for sex work.

Globally, there are many models, and each one is contested. In countries like Sweden, Norway, Canada and Israel, the so-called Nordic Model is employed. Criminal penalties are removed for the sale of sex, but the purchasing of sex remains illegal.

In other countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, Peru and Senegal, sex work is legalized, which means governments impose specific laws and regulations. This allows certain sex work under controlled conditions, and some countries require registration and mandatory health checks.

Decriminalization, meanwhile, is only fully in place in New Zealand and Belgium. This refers to the removal of all laws and regulations that penalize sex work between consenting adults. Sex work is treated as any other profession to reduce stigmatization, uphold bodily autonomy and promote health and safety.

Decriminalization is the legal model most favored by global sex worker-led initiatives.

International organizations like the World Health Organization,Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS have also advocated for the decriminalization of sex work. 

'Criminals for life'

Connie Mathe tells DW that exiting the sex industry is difficult, even if sex workers have further qualifications.

"Even though I have a diploma in legal studies, I'm afraid to ask for another job outside of SWEAT. If you have a criminal record in South Africa, no one will employ you. Even people who want to exit the industry can't," she said, adding a sex worker's criminal record can only be expunged 10 years after the latest arrest, effectively making many "criminals for life."

Recently, Mathe has been worried about the effects of USAID cuts in 2025 on sex workers' health. When picking up the results of routine medical tests, Mathe found the clinic she had done the tests at, the Ivan Toms Centre for Health in Cape Town, had closed.

The USAID-funded clinic was known for being discreet and LGBTQ+ friendly. According to Mathe, it was one of the few places where sex workers received respectful and fair treatment. 

After its closing, Mathe and several other patients were sent to a local hospital, where she says they spent hours waiting for treatment and were told to consolidate their medical concerns as a group.

"We were not welcome in the public hospital," Mathe said. "They looked at us like we were demanding a special service."

Crucial sex work trial on the horizon 

Mathe remains hopeful the Western Cape High Court will rule in their favor when the case goes to trial in May 2026. This would pave the way for sex workers to access the same fundamental rights and services as everyone else.

SWEAT representative Megan Lessing acknowledges, "We know that decriminalization won't fix everything. But it's the first step toward addressing the broad spectrum of issues surrounding sex work."

Edited by: Cai Nebe