"The friend, a sex worker herself, told Connie: "That's not a boyfriend, that's sex work. He only comes to have sex with you, bring you food, and pay the rent." Connie tells DW she had tried working in retail, hospitality, and in a call center, but it was never enough to cover her bills. She believed working as a sex worker full-time would mean that she was no longer dependent on her boyfriend; it promised greater financial security and autonomy."
"Years later, she was eventually arrested for operating a brothel. During the arrest, she says officers forced her to strip and sexually assaulted her. Upon her release, Connie says she found her savings had been stolen. She blames the police, but has no way of proving it. The arrest eventually brought her to the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT), South Africa's leading sex workers' rights organization."
Connie Mathe began exchanging sex for financial support at 19 to support her two children and avoid dependence on a married partner. Sex work offered greater financial security and autonomy than retail, hospitality, or call-center jobs. The work remained dangerous, marked by police harassment, weekly raids, and her eventual arrest for allegedly operating a brothel. Officers forced her to strip and sexually assaulted her, and her savings were later missing. The arrest led her to join the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT) and become national coordinator at the Asijiki Coalition advocating decriminalization. SWEAT estimates about 150,000 sex workers in South Africa, mostly women.
Read at www.dw.com
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