Sex with kids 'a bargain' in SA

2005-11-30 08:53

Imagine overhearing this conversation on the streets of Cape Town. A local pimp is talking to a tourist in a smart business suit. You can tell he's a tourist, because he has a Rough Guide to Sex Tourism* clutched in one hand. The pimp is looking affronted.

"R10 000 fine for having sex with a kid? That seems a little cheap to me. Don't you think it's a little cheap? I don't care what you read in the papers, it should cost you at least R20 000. Okay, if you buy in bulk, maybe we can shave a bit off the price - say, 100k for a half a dozen?

"I know, I know - we Capetonians are getting a bit of a reputation in tourism circles as a rip-off city. Okay, I tell you what - why not take advantage of our Buy One, Get One Free special - specially designed to bring in the tourists! And you can mix and match, boy and girl."

Ugh, it makes me sick. How can a South African court impose only a R10 000 fine on Peter Zimmerman, the Swiss attorney and sex tourist who had sex with a 16-year-old boy? (Or possibly a 14-year-old boy, according to some news reports. Apparently, newspapers make a lot of this stuff up on the fly.)

I used to get upset with Europeans who would say things to me like "Life is cheap in South Africa, isn't it." Actually, no, I'd respond angrily. It costs the same as everywhere else, and if you lose it, you lose as much as a European.

Well, it turns out I was wrong. Now when they say to me, "Life is cheap in South Africa", I'll have to say, well, not cheap, exactly, but you can still get a bargain if you go through the Justice System.

Of course, this is if you subscribe to a Proudly South African way of thinking, and buy a local lad or lass. If you don't mind imported products, we can do you an even better deal.

R1 000 for a Mozambican

In South Africa, it'll cost you as little as R1 000 for a Mozambican woman or girl, although you can also buy women (or girls - don't forget, your average Swiss attorney sex tourist likes 'em young, apparently) from Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Somalia, Bulgaria and Thailand, according to News24.

If you want to judge the extent of the problem, consider that, in the past 18 months, "84 foreign women and young girls have been rescued from sex slavery across South Africa". Given the apparent batting average of our police force - hmm, let me do bit of simple maths here... that means that there are probably at least another 5 000 still out there waiting to be rescued.

This is the ugly side of prostitution, although many will say there are only ugly sides. Others will tell you that some prostitution is okay, and that people should have the right to do whatever they want with their bodies. If you want to sell yours on the open market, then nobody should be allowed to stop you.

It's a compelling argument, I suppose. Though when you push the logic a bit too far, it starts to look a little thin around the edges. Should 16-year-old boys be allowed to sell their bodies like so much Swiss cheese? If sixteen is the age of consent, then it's hard to argue not.

But should 16-year-old boys be allowed, for example, to willingly agree to having their foreskin lopped off in an unlicensed circumcision? Well, no, especially when it leaves them dead.

I don't know the answer, but one thing I do know. It sticks in my craw that, on the surface, we still have a justice system that favours the rich over the poor. There may be reasons for the apparent leniency shown to Zimmerman (64 in some news reports, 46 in others, which again does make you wonder a little at the accuracy of the way the story has been reported).

Maybe the plea bargain involved information that will lead the police to crack a slavery ring, or something like that. The national co-ordinator of Childline says the R10 000 fine (which is actually reported as a R10 fine in one story: man, what do they teach these people at journalism school?) is "a slap on the wrist" and "is sending out the wrong message".

Maybe it's actually sending out the right message, if your business is sex tourism: Come have sex with our children, and we'll throw in a little light S&M to sweeten the deal.

Chris Roper would sooner trust a pimp than a news reporter.

*Apparently, Rough Guide believe that there might be people out there who actually think there IS a Rough Guide to Sex Tourism. There isn't.

Here is the letter they sent to Chris:

Chris, your article about the inadequacy of the law in regard to sex tourism in South Africa is no doubt timely and accurate and all at Rough Guides (a division of Penguin Books) would applaud the fact that you are airing a serious problem.

Regrettably, however, your use of the phrase "Rough Guide" in italics in your introductory paragraph might suggest to some readers that such a title actually exists, while in fact the Rough Guide to South Africa and the Rough Guide to Cape Town and the Garden Route *do* exist and are bought in large numbers by English-speaking visitors.

I would ask you to post a statement on News24 as a matter of urgency - ie immediately - along exactly the following lines or risk the wrath of a very determined legal team. With reference to my article "Sex with kids 'a bargain' in SA" (News24.com, 30/11/2005), Rough Guides, the travel and reference book publisher, have asked me to point out that the words "You can tell he's a tourist, because he has a Rough Guide to Sex Tourism clutched in one hand" might imply to readers the actual existence of such a book.

I accept there is now and never has been any such book and that Rough Guides views the problem of sex tourism, sexual exploitation and the inadequacy of the law in regard to sex tourism offences in South Africa with grave concern.

I accept that the use of this fictitious title was derogatory and likely to diminish the good name of Rough Guides Ltd and I apologise unreservedly for any misunderstanding or offence caused.

News24.com has made a donation equivalent to the fee for the column to [please nominate a local sex workers charity or campaigning group].

Thank you, and please acknowledge this e-mail.

Richard Trillo
Director of Communications
Rough Guides, Strand London, WC2R 0RL

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