At the event people wore colourful costumes.
A sex worker pride event was held at the Village Green in Observatory, Cape Town, using the #SexWorkerPride2024 hashtag. The Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT) and other organizations aimed to raise awareness about criminalisation, discrimination, and stigma in the sex worker movement. Constance Mathe, national coordinator for the Asijiki Coalition for the Decriminalisation of Sex Work, believes that decriminalisation will protect and advance the rights of sex workers, who currently have no rights under criminalisation. Mathe believes that people need to start recognising sex work as work and that labour laws need to recognize it as legitimate employment.
Sex workers are often turned away from clinics due to their work, leading to the use of NGO clinics. A sex worker for over 20 years, Bubu, has experienced police harassment, abuse, and wrongful arrest. Provincial coordinator for Sisonke, Lloyd Rugara, emphasized the importance of decriminalisation, stating that it would allow freedom for sex workers to move between locations for work and access services without being discriminated against.
The current draft bill decriminalises sex work to ensure better protection for sex workers, but critics argue it does not provide for the effect it will have on existing regulations. In May, over 50 sex workers and activists protested outside Parliament, calling for the decriminalisation bill to be fast-tracked.
