Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

“Sex, Sun, Soccer”: Stakeholder-Opinions on the Sex Industry in Cape Town in Anticipation of the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup

  • Published:
Urban Forum Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Sex workers, sex tourism, and their management during the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup is a controversial topic under much discussion in the media and there is a need for an academic debate on the issue. How city managers, tourism marketing organizations, the general public, and law enforcers will manage and deal with such an influx poses numerous practical and moral dilemmas, especially in the face of the growing tourism industry. In the paper, the opinions of various role-players in the tourism sector on the planning and management of sex work space in the City of Cape Town are investigated. Key aspects debated are decriminalization/legalization, prospects for a healthy city, spatial planning for sex spaces, and policing them.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Legalize means that (adult) prostitution is allowed within prescribed conditions (Anonymous, personal communication 2007).

References

  • Abbany, Z. (2006). Scoring in the soccer love shack [online]. Available from: http://www.dw-world.de [Accessed 22 October 2007].

  • Anonymous. (2007). Personal interview with a member of the City of Cape Town Metro Police Service management, 18/9/2007.

  • Committee on International Relations House of Representatives. (2006). Germany’s world cup brothels: 40,000 women and children at risk of exploitation through trafficking. [online]. Available from: http://commdocs.house.org [Accessed 2 October 2007].

  • Craggs, S., et al. (2006). Trafficking in human beings and the 2006 World Cup in Germany. [online] Available from: http://wwwlastradainternational.org [Accessed 5 October 2007]

  • De Moya, T., Garcia, R., & Herold, E. (2001). Female tourists and beach boys: romance or sex tourism? Annals of Tourism Research, 28(4), 978–997.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fick, N. (2005). Sex workers experiences with the local law enforcement in South Africa. Research for Sex Work, 8, 4–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobson, B. M. (2001). Uneasy virtue: the politics of prostitution and the American reform tradition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. [online]. Available from: http://books.google.com [Accessed 31 October 2007].

    Google Scholar 

  • Katerere, F. (2007). Female sex tourism lurks beneath Cape Town’s surface. The Big Issue, April 2007, 10.

  • Lalu, V. (2005). Considering decriminalization of sex work as a health issue in South Africa. The experience of SWEAT. Research for Sex work, 8, 11–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luiz, J. M., & Roets, L. (2000). On prostitution, STDs and the law in South Africa: the state as pimp. Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 8(1), 21–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Michalowski, R., & Wonders, N. A. (2001). Bodies, borders, and sex tourism in a globalize world: A tale of two cities—Amsterdam and Havana. Social Problems, 48(4), 545–571.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Opperman, M. (1999). Sex Tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 26(2), 251–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orlik, J. (2007). Sex and travel. The Big Issue, April 2007: 8.

  • Rao, N. (1999). Sex tourism in South Asia. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 11(2/3), 96–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, C., & Kinder, R. (1996). Sex, tourism and sex tourism: fulfilling similar needs? Tourism Management, 17(7), 507–518.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raymond, J. (2003). 10 Reasons for not legalizing prostitution. Journal of Trauma Practice, 2(3), 315–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • South African Law Commission. (2002). Project 107 on Sexual Offences; Issue paper 19 [online]. Available from: http://www.doj.gov.za [Accessed 12 June 2007].

  • Wojcicki, J. M. (2003). The movement to decriminalize sex work in Gauteng Province, South Africa, 1994–2002. African Studies Review, 46(3), 83–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zatz, N. D. (1997). Sex work/sex act: law, labor, and desire in constructs of prostitution. Signs, 22(2), 277–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, Republic of South Africa

    Ruth Bird & Ronnie Donaldson

Authors
  1. Ruth Bird
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ronnie Donaldson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ronnie Donaldson.

Additional information

Study participants–interviews conducted with key stakeholders

Participant 1: City of Cape Town: Health Department, interview 6/9/2007.

Participant 2: Victoria & Alfred Waterfront Tourism Management, interview 14/9/2007.

Participant 3: Sex Worker Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT), interview on 14/9/2007.

Participant 4: City of Cape Town: Environment and Development Department, interview 13/9/2007

Participant 5: Community Law Centre: University of Western Cape (email correspondence, 14/9/2007)

Participant 6: City of Cape Town Tourism Department, interview 21/8/2007. Not cited participant from Cape Town Routes Unlimited (email correspondence, 14/9/2007)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bird, R., Donaldson, R. “Sex, Sun, Soccer”: Stakeholder-Opinions on the Sex Industry in Cape Town in Anticipation of the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. Urban Forum 20, 33–46 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-009-9051-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-009-9051-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation