Sex workers in South Africa

Health in the sex industry

The South African sex industry has been multiplying by large numbers over the years. My main concern is the health issues in this industry and what the government and NGOs are doing to minimise the spreading of diseases between sex workers and their clients.

 There are many obstacles preventing healthcare workers from reaching this hard to reach sex industry namely legal, social and cultural stigmas, lack of education and discrimination of sex workers. We as a society need to understand sex workers and not be quick to judge and discriminate them because we need them in our fight against sexually transmitted diseases. Most of sex workers are uneducated so therefore they are unable to find proper jobs and they turn to the sex industry, they need to be educated more about diseases and the dangers of this industry so that they can be able to take care of themselves and take part in protecting their clients.  Sex workers also need to get tested as often as possibly, facilities should be accessible for them just like everyone else, they must not be made to feel unwelcome in testing centres and educational facilities.

 There are no research study reports incidence of HIV/STD's amongst sex workers, the Virological data collection studies in the Western Cape however reveal an increase in the 2.5% prevalence of HIV in the province. Sex workers need to be educated more on HIV/AIDS prevention. ‘Marginalising sex workers does very little to AIDS prevention efforts, a safer, healthier sex industry, means a safer, healthier broader society’, says SWEAT. Personally I think this statement is true, we cannot try as a society to conquer the spread of HIV/Aids while we discriminate against the people who are supposedly the “carriers” of the disease.

Loving the toad

We as women dream of meeting the “perfect guy” at some point in our lives. We even imagine the perfect meeting, the lady is just an ordinary Jane and Mr. “Perfect” well lets just say he’s perfect. Eyes meet and instantly you connect, the chemistry is too much and too intense to ignore. He knows you are the one and vice versa, he showers you with sweet little gifts, cooks for you, gives you massages which end up with the two of you in bed (you are so compatible). Mr. perfect not only has eyes for you but he also knows what to say and when, he even finishes your sentences.

Question is can you read his mind and tell him what he needs to hear all the time. We as women tend to expect too much from men that when an almost Mr. perfect, yes I said almost because no one is perfect, stands right in front of you, you will not notice because his jacket doesn’t go well with his jeans. It’s like that Sunday school story of the woman who was promised a visit from God and when he showed up as a homeless man she chased him away simply because he was messing up her beautifully primed yard. Only to find out later that it was actually God but it was too late. It is difficult for most women to find their “perfect” man because they judge man according to their physical attributes. Lets be honest how many good looking guys do you know that have all of the above things.

What matters the most is what is in the inside, that makes him the right guy for you but we never get to see that part because we don’t give ourselves a chance to get to know the “physically less than perfect” man. Lets face it most men are to die for on the outside but a disappointment when it comes to what matters the most, the saying, “don’t judge a book by its cover must have come up from that”. The type of men we read about in Mills and Boon just don’t exist. There can ever be only one Brad Pitt and Will Smith.

What we don’t realise is that, the ones that we run away from are the same men that will love, respect and be loyal to us. Ladies while you are busy chasing Mr. gorgeous from down the street, Mr. perfect from next door is getting away. Lets not even think about “cutting your own diamond” because you can never teach an old dog new tricks. Remember it takes a diamond to cut another.