Sex work from a feminist perspective: a visit to the Jordan case

• Main Author: Krüger, Rósaan
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 2004
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68877; https://doi.org/10.1080/19962126.2004.11864812

Publisher version === Introduction: Contributors to the prostitution/sex work debate, whether they condone, support or oppose criminalisation, legalisation or decriminalisation of prostitution, often rely on ‘facts’ to support their arguments. A common fact is that the majority of prostitutes/sex workers in the world and in South Africa are women. Thus, when I refer to prostitutes/sex workers, I refer to women working as prostitutes in the commercial sex industry. Furthermore, the fact that the majority of sex workers are women justifies considering prostitution from a feminist perspective – women’s voices on the subject should be heard. In this note I shall use the terms ‘prostitution’ and ‘sex work’ to refer to the exchange of sexual services for money. The former, more conventional term has a negative connotation, while the term ‘sex work’ denotes a movement away from casting a moral judgment towards recognition that sex work is just another job. References will be made to the associated activities of brothel-keeping and pimping, but the focus of this note is mainly on the provision of sexual services by the prostitute/ sex worker herself. Jordan v S is a Constitutional Court judgment in which the constitutional validity of the criminalisation of prostitution and its related activities were challenged. In order to analyse this judgment from a feminist perspective, I shall first briefly set out the current legal position on prostitution. Thereafter, I shall give an overview of Western feminist perspectives on prostitution and then link this perspective with African feminism. The last part of the note will be an analysis of the Jordan judgment in light of the feminist perspectives identified before.