As somebody with first-hand experience of the commercial sex trade, I know that those selling sex would never benefit from the oppressive regime of either full criminalisation or full decriminalisation, which is often lobbied for by academics and other mainly privileged white men and women.
Sex-trade survivors and activists want women in prostitution to be fully decriminalised, but doing the same for pimps, brothel-keepers and buyers would only further conceal the abuse and violence these mainly disadvantaged women face.
I have not always had the same understanding as I do now. I spent several years working with the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Task Force in Cape Town. They introduced me to the term "sex work", which I had not heard before.
Because it worked on ending police brutality against women in prostitution, I supported the group for a few years, but became disillusioned with their approach when I realised that they did not really care about women trapped in the abusive sex trade.Ishtar Lakhani of SWEAT makes many of the unfounded claims I have heard them make in her article, "Sex, shrugs and policy holes: Why partially decriminalising sex work isn't enough". I feel compelled to separate truth from fiction.
Responding to the South African Law Reform Commission report on adult prostitution, Lakhani claims the recommendations were influenced by religion rather than what she calls "evidence" that partially criminalising prostitution has made the situation more unsafe for women in prostitution.
To back this claim, Lakhani incorrectly cites a 2004 Norwegian ministry of justice report as saying violence towards prostituted women increased after the Sex Purchase Law of 1999 was passed in Sweden. There is no evidence of this. What the report says is that it was too early to say whether levels of violence had increased or fallen.
Not only is the research Lakhani provides incorrect, the claim made by her and others who advocate for full decriminalisation, that this is a religious or moralistic view, is completely false. This is only about the wellbeing and equality of South African women.
It is important to have the full picture of how entry into the sex trade happens. Although South Africa lacks research in this area, from my years of experience working with women in prostitution, it is clear most are from poor or disadvantaged communities.Prostitution reflects a form of economic, gender and racial apartheid, as most South African women in the trade are black. It is mostly seen as a way out of poverty, but after some time most women realise they are no better off and desperately want to leave.
The commission's task was to find a law that would effectively curb prostitution and address high HIV prevalence in the sex trade, improve access to health and justice, and provide support services for those in prostitution. Total decriminalisation does none of these things and in fact denies the full human rights of those selling sex.
In practice we have seen how this all pans out. New Zealand is one of a few countries that have enacted policies that fully decriminalise all elements of the sex trade. When I visited in 2011, I spoke to women who had been in prostitution before and after the new law was introduced in 2003.
They confirmed that although police harassment had been reduced, they were forced to move into brothels and endure violence and coercion from pimps, brothel-keepers and buyers of sex. Buyers, for example, frequently offered to pay more for sex without a condom. Despite arguments suggesting otherwise - including from Lakhani - full decriminalisation simply does not increase condom usage. Nor does it reduce HIV prevalence.This approach conceals the violence and abuse experienced by those selling sex, but it also benefits pimps, brothel owners and buyers - the exploitative elements of the sex trade.
In the South African context we are talking about women with limited levels of literacy, and low self-esteem, who are desperate to put food on the table. If an offer for more money without a condom is presented, it will probably be accepted.
The policy approach that sex trade survivors and activists support is partial decriminalisation, also known as the Nordic or Equality model, which happens to be the commission's second recommendation and the approach that local groups like Embrace Dignity want to make reality.
This approach recognises the power imbalance in the sex industry by decriminalising and providing exiting services and support to those selling sex, while criminalising pimping, brothel-keeping and buying sex. By adapting this model to the South African context we can start to improve the lives of our women and girls who have been coerced into the trade.
• Meji is a sex-trade survivor and programme associate for Embrace Dignity, the South African partner of international women's group Donor Direct Action..