izwi lethu: our voices newsletter issue #9

IZWI LETHU: OUR VOICE Issue 9 9986

Izwi Lethu: Our Voice

November/ December

2015

A NEWSLETTER BY SEX WORKERS FOR SEX WORKERS IN THIS ISSUE

Dear Reader,

We have come to the end of 2015 and have had a wonderful time. There have been exciting activities throughout the year. These include The SAYAS Symposium, WOTRO workshop, ASIJIKI Launch among others. The icing on the cake: on the 10th of December before we close business of the year, commercial sex workers in Gauteng held a people’s parliament with the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. This was the first time this has happened in the history of South Africa. Izwi Lethu’s Clara and Tanaka spoke. Clara’s report on the event is printed in this issue. More about this event will be covered in the first edition of Izwi Lethu 2016 and on the blog (methodsvisualexplore.tumblr.com).

Izwi Lethu is growing, and we are proud of this growth. We are adding a couple of columns, which include Gavin’s Corner and Kholi’s Desk. Though she needs no introduction to most who run in the CSW circles, let me introduce Kholi formally. Kholi Buthelezi is the Sisonke National Coordinator. She is the

only founding member of Sisonke who’s still standing. She will have a column in which she will share her vast knowledge on the industry and activism.

I am proud to also say that the MoVE project, which gave birth to Izwi Lethu has also expanded. There has been an addition to the project to complement Izwi Lethu: zines. Workshops to make these zines started in Limpopo and then in Mpumalanga. One of our reporters has shed light on what zines are in an article featured in this edition, so look out for it.

The MoVE team including everyone behind Izwi Lethu would like to wish everyone Happy Holidays and a prosperous 2016!!! Till we meet again.

Love,

Tanaka

Photos from Zine Workshops Featured in this issue are photos taken during the MoVE Zine Workshops in Limpopo and Mpumalanga. Follow MoVE on Twitter and Instagram (@MoVESAfrica) and on Tumblr (methodsvisualexplore.tumblr.com) for more.

Masthead

Sisonke National Coordinator: Kholi Sisonke National Reporter: Gavin Editor-‐in-‐Chief: Tanaka Managing Editor: Greta Contributing Editor: Clara Contributing Editor: Linda Feature Writer: Nandi Feature Writer: Nicky Izwi Lethu is a collaboration between Sisonke Sex Workers Movement and

ACMS’s MoVE Project

Editor’s Note by Tanaka, Editor-‐in-‐Chief

IZWI LETHU: OUR VOICE | Issue 9 2

This year Sisonke turned twelve years old, and it’s still going strong. This is because of all of you who believe in our movement! During this time, Sisonke has been trying to make our name known and heard, and I believe that we have made an impressive mark on South Africa as a movement that is collectively formed by sex workers themselves and supported by our partners.

Our movement is now known on a regional, national, and international level. Again, this because of all the members as well as the Sisonke staff who take the issues and challenges that we face to the next level.

Sisonke is looking forward to meeting other sex workers out there who do not know about the movement. We count on you to pass along information about Sisonke to others. We also call on each and every one of you to recruit more members that want to be part of the movement. The Sisonke national team and its members believe that united we will have a voice!

Izwi Lethu means a lot to the Sisonke South Africa movement. It brings our voices together. This newsletter is a wonderful opportunity for sex workers to be part of Izwi Lethu as it strives to empower sex workers. In this newsletter you will learn about activities that are happening in the different provinces. Let us keep Izwi Lethu alive! Read it, enjoy it, and share it with other sex workers that we do not get to meet or see.

Nothing About Us Without Us!

I ended up on the streets of Jozi. For two weeks I had nowhere to go, no food or shelter. I didn’t have parents, sisters, or brothers left. I was alone on the streets. To get food, I would go to a place called Twilight where they use to give food to the homeless. They would give us food once a day at one o’clock. When I wanted to bath, I would go to a public bath house for a shower and also wash my dirty clothes. I would sit and wait for them to get dry. Then after dressing up, I would try and find a bar where I would find a man who would take me home and give me money. I would sit in the bar with no money to buy a drink. I would sometimes feel sleepy and exhausted, wondering where I would get a guy that would give me shelter and some small money so I would be able to buy food.

Sometimes if I didn’t get a man I would wait for the other bars in Hillbrow to close. That’s when the bar called

Baghdad opens. It is open from 3 am until 6 pm.

One day I was in a bar called Ziyawa, where I met a guy. He bought me beers. As we were chatting, he asked me how much would I charge him. In my mind I just needed a place to sleep. I answered him saying, give me what you have, because I didn’t know how to charge him. As we were on the way to his house he told me that he had a wife he lived with. But she wasn’t around at the moment. I didn’t mind because I was not thinking straight, forgetting that she might arrive. We entered his flat. He was staying in a bachelor flat, which he was sharing with his friend. It had two beds. We agreed for R150. I was so happy. We then did business. As we were busy we heard a knock on the door. A women’s voice shouted outside, “Open this door before I break it!’’ The guy told me that it was his wife’s voice. I jumped from the bed and dressed. He said I must jump in his friend’s bed and pretend to be the friend’s girlfriend. He then opened the door. I was so scared, not knowing what to do.

I asked his friend to open the door for me. He convinced me to sleep with him.

Kholi’s Desk by Kholi, Sisonke National Coordinator

Life in the Streets of Jozi by Nandi, Feature Writer


He then gave me R50. I decided to sleep. Early in the morning I woke up, got dressed, and went out of the flat. I was homeless again, out there in the streets. I decided to go and book at a brothel because I had R200. I decided to go to a cheaper brothel to book a room. That’s how I was out of the street. I had a shelter and was able to make money and support myself. I met some girls in the brothel who were very friendly to me. That’s how I got out of the streets.

A zine is a small magazine or a booklet with stories written by people who want to tell their stories so that other people can learn things that they might not learn if it were not for zines. We as sex workers made zines in Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

Each workshop was two weeks long and had maybe 10-‐12 Sisonke members that participated. During the workshop days

participants would tell stories and learn how to draw, paint, color, and write. We learned that we could tell stories using art and writing, and we were taught many things that helped us to tell our stories. We also drew self-‐portraits every day.

Every day people were given homework, and this homework helped us to think about the story that we wanted to share with the world. At the end of the first week of the workshop, people had to start thinking about what story they wanted to tell to the world in a zine.

Some people told stories about how they started sex work, some shared about having mean step mothers, others made zines about being gay and a sex worker, and many explained why it is important to decriminalise sex work in South Africa. There were many stories made. After the two workshops Sisonke will have more than 20 zines to use for advocacy.

I enjoyed my time very much but my favorite was the workshop at Bundu Lodge (Nelspruit, Mpumalanga). The food was the best there.

I am staying in a dark place where there is no electricity, no water. We eat expired food and smoke drugs, stealing from people to survive. I decided to come to Johannesburg from Eastern Cape because my mother is happily married with another man with two children.

When I lived with them, she would insult me that my father was rubbish. I stopped schooling at standard nine. And then I hitch hike a truck to Johannesburg. When I landed, I was homeless, sleeping on the street for five days. One day, it was a rainy day, I heard a voice of a lady. She mentioned her name, Nolili. I followed her and found that we are coming from the same area in Eastern Cape. She took me where she stayed. There was a lady staying there with her, whose name was Sisi.

Sisi was so nice to me because I was new. She offered me clothes to wear and gave me instructions, “If you are staying here, you must obey my rules, and you must dress nice. I’m going to show you ladies. They will teach you how to get money.”

Sisi sold beers in the house. Before you go out, Sisi would give you beer by credit. She called it “a start”.

“A start, my dear, so that you cannot be shy where you are going to, and when you are coming back, you must pay my money back.” I was so confused where I was going to get money for those beers. That’s when I started to be a sex worker.

Making Zines in Limpopo and Mpumalanga by Linda, Contributing Editor

My First Time in Jozi by Nicky, Feature Writer


On my second day on the street, I got a client. The client told me, “Wow, are you new here?”

I said yes with a smile because I know I’m going to get money.

The white man took me to his house and said to me, “You know what, I’ve got a nice job for you because you look beautiful.” He opened up the garage and said, “There we go. You must sleep with my dog.”

I was shaking and I had no choice because he held a gun at me. In the morning, I ran to the police station, where I asked for help. They were willing to help me, but the problem was I couldn’t recongise where I had been because I was not well.

The cops just helped me to hospital. I found that I got a dog sickness. Sisi was very kind because she told me to rest. Then I went for counselling. She tried to comfort me. When I was healed, I went back to my job because I had no choice. I was supposed to pay the rent.

The other day I went to a hair salon to distribute Izwi Lethu copies. I wanted them to read the newsletter, so I promised them that after I distributed my newsletters I would come back for a hairdo.

As promised, I returned to the salon after an hour. While I was sitting drying my hair in their dryer, I overheard two ladies discussing the newsletter. One said she didn’t like sex workers. The friend asked why she despised sex workers like that. Then I joined the conversation, and I asked her how many boyfriends does she have. She told me she has got three boyfriends, one to buy lunch, one to pay for rent, and the last one is the one she loves. I told the lady that if she is sleeping with men in exchange of anything then she is doing sex work.

Sex workers who stand in the streets are despised because it’s pay as you go, but we have many sex workers who hide themselves, hairdressers, secretaries,

street vendors, waitresses. At universities, some girls do sex work to make ends meet. How many men do women sleep with before settling down for marriage? Women lie to their men about their birthdays in order to get presents that will later be exchanged for sex.

Every woman is a sex worker. For some it is pay as you go. Women get married for sex in exchange the husband buys food for the house and pays bills. That’s sex work.

Most women hate those who charge pay as you go because they sleep with their husbands. Sex workers do not chase husbands; husbands choose to be clients. If there were no clients, there wouldn’t be sex workers.

I grew up in Umtata in the Eastern Cape with my mother and two siblings. My mother is unemployed, and she is a single parent. It was difficult for her to support us, not knowing how to survive. When I look at the poverty at home, I would do anything to support my family.

One day, on my way to the shop, I met a long time friend whom I knew from high school. She looked so lovely, wearing expensive clothes. You could see that she had money. When I asked where she had been for so long, she told me that she was working in a restaurant in Jozi so she had been staying in Joburg. I was interested in coming to Jozi with her because I thought I would get a job to support my family. I approached her to come to Jozi with her. She didn’t have a problem. She told me she had a flat in Jozi. That’s how I decided to come to Jozi. The following day we decided to go

Who is a Sex Worker by Clara, Contributing Editor

My Journey to Jozi by Nandi, Feature Writer


and hitch hike a truck. I decided not to tell my mom because she wouldn’t agree to let me go. I packed my clothes privately and snuck out of the house to go to my friend’s house, and we left for Joburg. When we were busy hitch hiking, we luckily got a truck to Joburg. We entered the truck and off we went. As we were on the journey, my friend told me that we had to pay the driver but we didn’t have money. So I had to sleep with the driver. I felt so dirty and used, but I had no choice. We then arrived in the City of Gold.

I was so scared in a place I didn’t know with a lot of strangers, wishing to go back home, but I had no money. We arrived in a place called Hillbrow. We did not go to a flat but a brothel full of girls wearing short skirts. My friend knew some girls from home. They welcomed us. We went to one of the girl’s rooms and took our bath. After we went down to the bar, and I did not know what they were doing. They were hiding it for two days. But after two days they sat me down and told me that they can’t support me anymore so I have to make money. When I asked how, they told me to sell sex for money. I had no choice but to do it. All this to find out my friend was a sex worker. She was not working in a restaurant as she told me. That’s how I became a sex worker. I just got used to it.

It was quick cash, and I was sending some money home, paying school fees for my siblings. December time I would go home to visit them. I bought them clothes and food, and we enjoyed the Christmas together. My mom thought I was working in a restaurant, not knowing that I was a sex worker because there was no sign of me being a sex worker. I would go back to Joburg in January to be a sex worker. My friend left me in Joburg. She went back home, and now she is married with kids.

Dear Mastoep,

How does a sex worker deal with feelings? I am sure there are those moments they get a hot client and wish he'd stick with them instead of a once off NSA quickie.

Dear Curious Client,

In my time of practicing, I at many occasions encountered this situation. How I dealt with it was just to remind myself why I was with that guy and what it is that had made us engage in the transaction. However, I kept an open mind as no one knows what the future holds.

Regards, Mastoep

Dear Mastoep,

What is a sex worker supposed to do in a situation whereby a client pays her good money (say an amount that she often gets after 2 very busy weeks) and then requests for sex without a condom?

Dear Tempted, There are many risks a sex worker has to consider before engaging in an activity such as this. These could be contracting or re-‐infecting themselves with HIV, STIs, and becoming pregnant. Yes situations can drive people to take risks, but according to my experience, the handling of such a dilemma varies from person to person according to their principles.

Regards, Mastoep

Dear Mastoep, If sex workers run out of condoms, what do they do? Do they continue with work without condoms? Dear Condomless,

There is nowhere a sex worker should run out of condoms. There are many peer educators from different organisations in every district distributing condoms. If it happens that there are no condoms at their work place, sex workers should go to the nearest clinic for help. Sex workers should always condomise.

Regards, Mastoep

Ask Dear Mastoep by Dear Mastoep


I am a dark and tall lady who was abused by her former boyfriend. He used to beat me up when he was drunk, and he locked me in the house.

I had a friend I used to visit in Johannesburg to share my problems with. She would comfort me. Her name is Amarula. One day we were busy sitting outside of her place. It was my lunchtime.

I just had one glass of wine. We used to buy wine for forty rand at the nearest bar opposite Shoprite at Pretorious Street.

I was working at the nearest salon next to the night club called Wild West. Lucky enough for me, a black guy walked by me. He was wearing amadantsane (black overalls), safety boots, and a black beanie cap.

I felt love at the first sight inside my heart. He went straight to one of the nearest spaza shops not far from us. I noticed him. He bought two cigarettes of Caughtly and lit one. By that time I was not telling

my friend what I saw. All my concentration was on that guy. He was not tall or short but mid-‐sized.

Amarula asked, “Why you so quiet, Peto?”

I just said, “Look at that guy.”

She said to me, “Oh Peto, he’s my friend. Do you want me to call him?”

“Oh no, Amarula. I’m not that kind of a lady!”

She laughed at me because she knew exactly who I was and what I wanted.

He was sitting five metres away from us, and he was alone but there were people around that territory.

I even forgot that it was my lunchtime the way I was so in love with that guy. Amarula tried to introduce me to the guy. She started calling him.

Amarula said, “Ta Nyibo, this is Nicky. She’s my friend.”

“Haai Nicky,” Ta Nyebo said. “How are you, girl?”

“I’m fine,” I answered.

“Have you ever takan a look at yourself in a big mirror?”

“Why?”

“Can I call you Black Berry?”

I said yes. After that he asked for my cell number. I gave it to him. That’s when we started dating each other. Today he’s my husband.

Firstly and most of all, I would like to thank the government for giving us the opportunity to share our experiences with the government and the public at large. I would also like to thank the organisations that support the

My Second Love by Nicky, Feature Writer

In Support of the Decriminalisation of Sex Work by Clara, Contributing Editor


decriminalisation of sex work: SWEAT, Sisonke, WHO, UNAIDS, The Global Commission on HIV and the Law, Amnesty International, and South African Commission for Gender and Equality. I would also like to thank the SWEAT Gauteng Provincial Manager, Dianne Massawe, for organising with the government not to include the media in all dialogues because we cannot convince the reporters to report responsibly.

If we do not share our experiences with the government, why will the government decriminalise sex work? The government will see that things are not fine for sex workers: Police officers confiscating condoms from people they believe are sex workers, police officers being violent to sex workers, health service providers being judgmental to sex workers (including during condom provision and HIV treatment). Because of these things, we are afraid to go to the police to report abuse against ourselves, other sex workers, and clients.

Legislature is an institution that makes laws. It is supposed to address the challenges we face as a community, and that community includes sex workers. The legislature should amend laws that are not implementable. Making and changing laws requires researchers going to other countries to learn what legal frameworks they use, like New Zealand where sex work is decriminalised. The government must engage with church leaders to help reduce stigma because society’s attitudes stigmatize sex workers as dirty, dumb, immoral, and lazy.

Decriminalisation of sex work would be right here in South Africa because the country is focused on human rights. The decriminalization of sex work is built on a public health model and it allows for a cooperative relationship between sex workers and the state police to reduce violence. This would recognize the dignity of sex workers as people.

Dear Readers,

As avid followers of Izwe Lethu, you will realize that this column is a new addition to a well-‐established, informative newsletter. It will become a regular feature bringing you all the news from the Sisonke National Office in Observatory, Cape Town, with updates from all provinces, news from abroad, and stories that can uplift, motivate, or simply change the way you look at issues that affect our lives.

Congratulations to the existing team that has been trained and are still actively involved at various levels. From reporting the untold stories to editing and painstaking piecing it all together for production—with the active participation, guidance, and workshop facilitation from the African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS)—you are doing some amazing work.

With the August launch of the Asijiki Coalition, the collective call for DECRIMINALISATION by 14 more other NGO’s from various sectors has become an even hotter topic than ever before.

Since returning from the capacity building workshop conducted by the UN Global Fund staff and hosted by the African Sex Worker Alliance (ASWA) in Kenya with my esteemed colleagues, Ms. Pamela Chavinga and Ms. Nosipho Vidima, we have made lots of strides in the right direction. A sex worker inclusive taskforce was set up with South African National Aids Council (SANAC) whereby we have been tasked with the drafting of a National Strategic Plan on the Sex Worker HIV/Aids Programme. Ms. Vidima was elected as co-‐chairperson of the Sex Worker Technical Taskforce Working Group (SWTTWG) and our National Co-‐ordinator, Ms. Kholi Buthelezi as a Country Co-‐ordinating Mechanism (CCM) member representing Sex Workers (SW’s) in South Africa. Congratulations to both of them from all of us. We are close to finally submitting our revised version of the document on SW HIV/Aids National Strategic Plan (NSP). It has been a long journey but we are all confidant the the hard work by the taskforce members and that of our partners from various other sectors including Health, Legal and Human Rights will bear fruit. We will keep you posted.

As you chant “My Body, My Business” or “Sex Work is Work”, ask yourself this

Gavin’s Corner by Gavin, Sisonke National Reporter


question: Do I believe in what I’m saying? If you answered “yes” then we cannot settle for anything less than full decriminalisation. With decriminalisation we would have a reduction in gender and intimate partner based violence (GBV and IPV), reduction in our high HIV/Aids infection rates, better access to health care, reduction in human rights violations, and a reduction in police brutality and corruption. Last year alone we know about 700 human rights violations and 39 reported murders of sex workers. What about the unreported cases that we don’t about?

In April 2013 a FSW, Ms. Nokuphile Khumalo (a.k.a Nontombi) was brutually murdered by an internationally renowned artist, Zwelethu Mthethwa. Our Lobby Group under the dedicated leadership of Ms. Glynis Bantam has been picketing outside the Cape Town High Court everytime he appears. The same is done at the Wynberg Regional Court, Cape Town, for the Tim Osrin case. He viciously attacked a domestic worker on her way to work one morning whom he mistook her for a sex worker in the Kenilworth area in Cape Town.

I hope you now have a better understanding of why the decriminalisation of sex work is so important. Use every opportunity to

push for it so we can get many people involved in this dialogue.

Lots of exciting events have been happening here and around the country. From the 3rd October the “HANDS OFF” Train the Trainer Workshop Series kicked off in Cape Town culminating in all the participants graduating on the last day as Human Rights Defenders. Congratulations to all who participated and good luck for the future!

From the 26th to the 27th of October we had the Sisonke National Co-‐ordinators’ Meeting that was held in Observatory, Gauteng, which proved to be very informative and successful with a guest facilitator showing particiants how to use a new application for smartphones called “iMonitor”. This new app. Enables users to record Human Rights abuses and allows us to monitor the follow up of these cases. Thank you SANAC for developing this app. for our benefit. I am convinced we will see a reduction and—hopefully in the future—a complete eradiction of all abuses against sex workers.

Earlier this year we saw the formation of a group called “Mothers of the Future” at the Sisonke offices in Cape Town. It is a continuation of the support group for mothers who were part of the initial

group. While a new group has started for “new” mothers, this is the on-‐going support for the “old” mothers. This support group is the brain child of another staunch Sisonke member, Ms. Duduzile Dlamini. According to her, this programme supports female sex workers to become the best mothers they can be. Their objectives are: to provide basic healthcare services, referrals & educational materials to mothers; highlight the importance, methods & locations to access safe family planning; educate & refer mothers to legal support & social development grants & assist with necessary applications; discuss safe child care techniques & link mothers to services and lastly; to support mothers & the community to embrace mothers who are sex workers and their children.

Until next time… Hope you enjoy the rest of the newsletter.

From the Sisonke National Office in Cape Town with Love, Gavin

For extended articles, audio recordings of writers reading their stories, and many more pictures, check out: methodsvisualexplore.tumblr.com Contact Izwi Lethu and MoVE at: [email protected]

All stories in this newsletter express the views of the writers and not necessarily those of these supporting organisations.

izwi lethu: our voices newsletter issue #9

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