Policing Bodies: Law, Sex Work, and Desire in Johannesburg

In Johannesburg, South Africa, sex work is a legally gray area, with police attitudes towards it being inconsistent and largely unregulated. This results in both negotiation room and extreme precarity for sex workers. This book explores how sex work is policed and challenges discourses about sexuality and gender that inform its regulation, illustrating the tension between enforcing a country's laws and protecting citizens' human rights.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 21 December 2021
Publisher: Stanford University Press

In Johannesburg, South Africa, the legal status of sex work remains ambiguous, leading to inconsistent and largely unregulated policing attitudes. According to I. India Thusi's argument in Policing Bodies, this ambiguity creates both opportunities for negotiation that can benefit sex workers and extreme precarity, as security police officers' support can be offered and withdrawn at a moment's notice. Sex work exists on a continuum between formal and informal sectors. Formal tasks, including police activities, often exhibit a haphazard approach, reflecting subjective notions of beauty and value. However, high-level organizational directives aimed at regulating police obligations and duties towards sex workers also exert influence on police action, tilting discretion towards the formal. Within this transitional space, this book explores the policing of sex work and proposes alternative approaches. Challenging dominant discourses about sexuality and gender that inform its regulation, Thusi exposes the limitations of mainstream feminist arguments regarding the legal treatment of sex work. Through an in-depth, historically informed ethnography, the book illustrates the tension between enforcing national laws and safeguarding citizens' human rights.

Weight: 390g
Dimension: 152 x 228 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781503629745