“This is a deep systemic problem and we need to protect the most vulnerable,” said The Morning Review presenter Lester Kivit.
Harassment of homeless sex workers by law enforcement has increased since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a local sex worker advocacy organization.
Megan Lessing of the Working Group on Sexual Education and Advocacy (SWEAT) told Lester Kiewit of CapeTalk that in just one week, the group that had settled under a bridge at the observatory had been targeted.
Lessing says law enforcement moved two weeks ago during a particularly bad cold.
It was just a mess … it was frozen … they loaded people’s belongings, documents, medicines … it’s devastating.
Megan Lessing, Media Advocate – Sex and Advocacy Training Working Group (SWEAT)
CONNECTED: Is it a crime to be homeless? “By-laws criminalize their very existence”
CONNECTED: Excluded from Covid’s relief and struggle for survival, sex workers turn to the web
Lessing says the homeless groups affected are mostly members of the LGBTQI community.
Many transgender workers remain there.
Megan Lessing, Media Advocate – Sex and Advocacy Training Working Group (SWEAT)
“This is a deep systemic problem and we need to protect the most vulnerable,” said The Morning Review presenter Lester Kivit.
When people say how much money the city of Cape Town spends on homelessness, it includes money in court that they spend trying to protect these horrible bylaws.
Megan Lessing, Media Advocate – Sex and Advocacy Training Working Group (SWEAT)
The city of Cape Town came under fire last week [sharing](http: // Grad of Cape Town, criticized for sharing a social media homeless complaint form) a social media complaint template for people “who want to share their complaints about the impact of street people and their structures on themselves or their business”.
Listen to the full conversation with Megan Lessing on Sweat by clicking below: