Contested spaces: Exploring the intersections of migration, sex work and trafficking in South Africa (original) (raw)

2015, Graduate Journal of Social Science

This paper considers the discourses, practices and conditions that contribute to the multiple vulnerabilities faced by female migrants who sell sex in South Africa and, in turn questions the ways in which they negotiate and challenge these vulnerabilities. In Johannesburg, a city with the largest proportion of South Africa's migrants, female migrants who sell sex face a number of vulnerabilities due to the criminalised nature of their work and other factors such as irregular documentation status, fear of deportation and xenophobia, (Gould & Fick 2008; Richter 2012 et al). In addition, concerns around human trafficking in South Af-rica are seen to negatively impact upon attitudes towards sex work. Drawing from two research projects with migrants who sell sex in inner-city Johannesburg, this paper highlights the need for a more nuanced discussion around sex work and trafficking. While highlighting the distinctions between the two, we argue that it is necessary to recognise the multiple realities for women who sell sex; realities which seep out far beyond the popular discourses which label them as victims and which demonstrate that experiences of sex work can embody risk, hope, fear, enjoyment, violence and fulfilment.

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