Sex workers could soon go about their business without fear of getting arrested as the government moves closer to the final stages of decriminalising the trade in SA.
The justice department told IOL on Thursday that a bill to decriminalise adult sex work is being finalised.
This follows a meeting in Pretoria between deputy justice minister Andries Nel and sex worker organisations, including the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce, or Sweat.
The meeting, held on Wednesday last week, was to provide an update on progress after more than a dozen government departments took part in workshops to hammer out the details of a new regulatory framework.
At present, selling sex, buying sex, or earning money from it in any way is illegal in SA.
The government has already backed decriminalisation, and it is included in SA’s national plans on gender-based violence and on HIV, TB and STIs.
Cabinet approved a draft bill for public comment in 2022.
But the process stalled after legal advisers said it was not enough to simply remove criminal penalties.
They said the law also needed to clearly set out how sex work would be regulated.
This led to further consultations, more workshops, and delays.
Those workshops were finally held in November 2025 and again last month, bringing together departments including health, labour, home affairs, social development, the police, the National Prosecuting Authority and the SA Revenue Service.
The aim was to decide which existing laws could be extended to cover sex work, and where new rules would be needed.
Ministry spokesperson Terrence Manase confirmed this week that the process is well advanced.
“The development of new legislation is at an advanced stage,” Manase told IOL.
“At last week’s meeting, the deputy minister reiterated government’s commitment to the issue of the decriminalisation of sex work.”
But he also said that several steps still lie ahead before anything changes in practice.
“Once concluded, the department will prepare draft legislation for further engagement before approaching cabinet for permission to formally publish the bill for public comment,” he said.
After that, the bill would still need cabinet’s approval before going to Parliament, where the public would again get a chance to have their say.
Only once Parliament passes it and the President signs it does it become law.
Until then, Manase said, it is business as usual — in the legal sense, at least.
“It is important to note that the Bill mentioned by Sweat is not an act yet and thus is not in operation as yet,” he said.
“In other words, the current legislation pertaining to sex work still applies.”
Manase said Nel also gave sex worker groups clear assurances about what the new law would and would not include.
The assurances included that there will be no compulsory registration of sex workers and no forced HIV testing.
Proposals such as red-light districts or zoning laws that would restrict where sex workers can operate were ruled out.
Nel said that any local regulation would instead be handled through the same by-law processes used for other businesses.
Sweat welcomed those commitments.
“Sex workers cannot continue to wait for legal protection while facing ongoing criminalisation and harm,” it told IOL.
“The time for consultation is passing.
“The time for action is now.”
IOL
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