Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa: Launch of South African National Sex Worker HIV Plan

Programme Director, Deputy Minister Bogopane-Zulu
Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla
Chairperson of the SANAC Board, Dr Gwen Ramokgopa
Deputy Chairperson of SANAC, Ms Steve Letsike
CEO of SANAC, Dr Fareed Abdullah
Leaders of civil society and the sex work sector
Ladies and gentlemen

It is fitting that we are launching the National Sex Work Sector Plan during Human Rights Month.

Because this plan is about human rights.

It is about affirming the equal worth of every person.

It is about affirming the right of all South Africans to life, to dignity, to health - regardless of their occupation and regardless of their circumstances.

This plan is also about public health.

We launch this plan knowing that our national effort to arrest new HIV infections will not succeed if sex workers are disempowered, marginalised and stigmatised.

In launching the plan, we call on all sex workers to recognise the enormous power they have to help our nation in making AIDS a thing of the past.

We cannot reclaim the morality of society by excluding the most vulnerable among us.

Whatever views individuals may hold about sex work, whatever the statutes may say about the legality of sex work, we cannot deny the humanity and inalienable rights of people who engage in sex work.

Like any one else, they have dreams, customs, beliefs and faith.

They too have mothers, fathers, families and children who love and appreciate them.

They have the right to be treated with dignity, the right to their bodily integrity, and the right to say no.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It has been almost two years since I became chair of the South African National AIDS Council.

In that time, I have had the privilege of working with the many government departments and civil society organisations that are at the forefront of the struggle against HIV, AIDS and TB.

I have come to appreciate how stigma continues to impede our country's response to these diseases.

I have learnt that many men are refusing to come forward to be tested for HIV and for treatment because of fear and denial.

I have heard how the financial challenges faced by civil society organisations are hampering efforts to educate, conscientise and mobilise the masses of our people.

I have listened very carefully to the Minister of Health about how we need to put 90 percent of people living with HIV on treatment.

I have heard how we need to do so much more to tackle TB in the mines and correctional facilities.

In all of this time, one of the issues brought to my attention has struck me as particularly perplexing.

It is a matter of concern that while the Department of Health supplies sex workers with condoms to protect them from HIV, pregnancy and STIs, it is not uncommon for the police to confiscate these condoms.

We have one organ of the state providing a very necessary service and another organ of the state taking that very service away.

This is not necessarily the fault of the police.

This is the consequence of our inability to develop a coherent approach to the challenges facing sex workers.

We need to respond to the legal, social, health and welfare dimensions of sex work in a comprehensive and consistent manner.

We see this plan as a step in that direction.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have heard today that the rate of HIV among sex workers is among the highest we have seen in any community in this country.

With HIV prevalence rates three to four times higher among female sex workers than in women in the general population of their age group, we must realise that we are faced with a serious challenge that we cannot ignore.

This is why SANAC has prioritised the prevention and treatment of HIV among sex workers.

The development of an appropriate response requires reliable data.

We are grateful to the United States Centers for Disease Control and the University of California San Francisco for conducting the first detailed study of HIV prevalence among female sex workers in South Africa.

This work has helped us to plan a national programme that will eventually reach all sex workers in the country.

I would like to thank the Technical Working Group, the departments of Health, Social Development and Justice, and various stakeholders - in particular the sex worker community - for working together to develop this national plan.

This plan is informed by some fundamental principles.

It is informed by the principle that women and men involved in sex work must not be denied health services, information or advice.

It is informed by the principle that sex workers should not have to suffer and die from diseases that are preventable, that are treatable and that affect us all.

It is informed by the principle that sex workers can no longer be denied their constitutional rights, be beaten up with no recourse to justice, or that they can be subjected to unlawful arrest.

In this we are guided by the letter and spirit of our Constitution.

This plan is innovative, multi-layered and comprehensive.

At the centre of this plan is a peer education programme, through which 1,000 peer educators will be recruited to provide support and assistance to around 70,000 sex workers over the next three years.

As we have heard, South Africa is one of the first countries in the world to take a decision to provide pre-exposure prophylaxis to sex workers.

It will also be among those countries pioneering universal test and treat for sex workers, whereby a person who tests positive for HIV will be offered treatment regardless of CD4 count.

This plan goes beyond the provision of health services.

The difficult issues of violence, stigma, alcohol and drug abuse, depression, social isolation, forced migration and lack of economic opportunities are all addressed in this plan.

We would like to see all national and provincial departments, municipalities and development partners working together to implement this national plan.

This is critical because we know that the sex worker community is a highly mobile one.

As this plan unfolds, we will need to deal with the legal status of sex work, ensuring that our laws balance the rights of individuals and the needs of society.

As you have heard, this is work with which government is engaged.

This plan aims to sensitise health care providers, social workers and law enforcement officials on the right of sex workers to quality care, confidentiality and consent.

Consistent with our commitment to ensure all South Africans have access to legal representation, SANAC has partnered with Legal Aid South Africa to provide legal and paralegal support through a call centre service to sex workers who are arrested.

Let us today pledge to end discrimination against the vulnerable and protect those in sex work.

Let us pledge to end all forms of violence and discrimination against girls and women.

Let us pledge to develop sound policies and pass progressive laws that promote the human rights of all.

This plan sets us out on a journey.

It will be a difficult journey.

There will be practical challenges to overcome.

There are many complex legal, moral and social issues that we will need to grapple with and resolve.

As we do so, we would do well to reflect on the words of Steve Biko, when he said: "We have set out on a quest for true humanity, and somewhere on the distant horizon we can see the glittering prize. "Let us march forth with courage and determination, drawing strength from our common plight and our brotherhood. "In time we shall be in a position to bestow upon South Africa the greatest gift possible - a more human face.”

I thank you.

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