Special Report: Christian Ministries Help South African Women Leave Prostitution
JOHANNESBURG — Financial instability, high unemployment and poverty in South Africa have led some women to choose prostitution as a means of supporting their children.
As South Africa commemorated its 69th National Women’s Day this past Aug. 9 and the government moves to decriminalize prostitution, Religion Unplugged interviewed Christian ministries that preach to women involved in prostitution to explore the church’s role in restoring their dignity.
Madri Bruwer, a counselor at Straatwerk (street work in Afrikaans) and the manager of its ministry focused on prostitution in Cape Town, and Caitlin van der Merwe from Woven, a ministry under Fire and Fragrance in Potchefstroom, shared how they help women who want to exit the streets.
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Straatwerk has been operating since the 1960s, while Woven began in 2022.
Speaking on behalf of Straatwerk, Bruwer said, “The trauma of abuse and neglect, usually suffered over a long period of time [resulting in a distorted view of God and self, brokenness and desperation], in the context of a lack of choices and the presence of coercion and deception is at the root of prostitution. In this reality and a culture promoting self-objectification, most women turn to prostitution due to financial need for basic necessities, supporting dependents and funding addictions.”
Van der Merwe said a majority of women in the sex trade “struggle to find a way to provide for their families and were introduced to prostitution as a means to get an income. I have not met a woman who has said that prostitution is her dream job and she loves doing it, but rather that they don’t have another choice.”
It has been over a year since “Lady A” — a 35-year-old woman whose identity is not being made public to protect their families — dedicated her life to Christ after spending 10 years in prostitution on the streets of Cape Town. She said she was led to Christ by the Straatwerk team.
“Lady A,” who hails from the Delft section of Cape Town, recalled: “I had to be under the influence of drugs, tik, while with my clients. I wasn’t always sober. Drug use numbed my emotions. I was just there, unable to feel anything.”
Delft is one of the most dangerous townships, plagued by drugs and crime. The mother of two recounted how she got involved in prostitution.
“It started with me visiting clubs and meeting different men, sleeping with them and receiving payment afterward,” she said. “One man remarked that I was no different from a woman selling her body on the streets. He said we were alike.”
Eventually, she met a man from Cameroon who introduced her to full-time prostitution.
“Some men would sleep with me, yet they insisted I was beautiful and shouldn’t be doing [prostitution],” she recalled. “They expressed a desire to change my life, but continued to have sex with me. I worked in a brothel and on the streets before shifting to online prostitution. I often feared that my family would see me on the streets. I charged between R150 ($8.44) for an hour and R500 ($27.45) for half an hour with online clients. I also sold drugs.”
She said that after receiving Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior, her life began to change.
“When I surrendered my life to Christ, I was able to quit using drugs and transformed my life. It shocks me because I never thought I would be able to stop. I used to call myself a druggie. I ask myself, ‘Is this really me?’ I no longer have any drug cravings,” she said.
Her message to women: “God loves them and nothing is impossible with Him. They should never lose hope in God.”
Bruwer said the reality for many South African women entering prostitution often stems from a multi-generational disconnection from God, prayer and His teachings as well as post-traumatic stress disorder and other issues.
“Lady B” — a 44-year-old woman and a mother of three from Cape Town originally from Zimbabwe — revealed that she used to run away from the Straatwerk team whenever they came to share the Gospel on the streets. However, a team member from Straatwerk “approached me and hugged me for about 10 minutes and then left,” she said.
“Lady B” said it was that hug, and a follow-up phone call from that member, that changed her life.
“I was told that “‘you can’t find clients like this [being sober].’ I had to stay clear-headed because my kids were in my thoughts,” “Lady B” said of her life on the streets. “I knew what I was doing was wrong. I was raise up well.”
Today, “Lady B” preaches the Gospel with the Straatwerk team to women on the street. Her said heart cries out for them and her plea to the Lord is to touch their lives the way He touched hers.
“It is not that easy to move out from that business,” she added. “But if you change the inner person there is a way out. Then it's much easier to leave that lifestyle.”
Vicky Abraham is an investigative journalist based in South Africa and has reported for the Mail & Guardian, City Press, Assist News, the Nation newspaper in Nigeria and Nation Media Group in Kenya.