Navigating Risk: Lessons From the Dockside Sex Trade for Reducing Violence in South Africa’s Prostitution Industry

Abstract: The diversity of South Africa’s prostitution industry exposes sex workers to varying levels of violence. The street, truck stop, hotel, agency, brothel, and dockside trades are characterized by dif-ferent structural features that determine the prevalence of client, police, and third-party abuse against prostitutes. Comparing the structural elements of each sector allows not only gauging the likelihood of violence within a given niche but also devising more precise policy instruments to reduce violence at an industry-wide level. This article focuses on the dockside prostitution sector, showing how its struc-tural features enhance the women’s power vis-à-vis their clients and discussing 5 key variables that influ-ence the likelihood of violence: the social and legal status of the client, the location of the negotiation, the location of the sexual act, the level of discretion in the solicitation process, and the role of third-party involvement. Detailed policy recommendations conclude the argument. Key words: sex workers; prostitutes; sailors; clients; abuse Sexual violence has reached epidemic proportions in South Africa, which has one of the highest rape rates in the world (Statistics South Africa, 2000). In many com-munities, men use rape as a tool of social control (Moffett, 2006). For some urban youth, gang rape is a form of recreation—an occurrence so common that it has entered the national lexicon through the term jackrolling (Clayton, 2005). A burgeoning literature on townshi