Volume 44: Research with sex workers in South Africa

This article presents findings from a study that was undertaken in collaboration with 19 internal and cross-border migrant women, men and transgender persons who sell sex in the Limpopo and Gauteng provinces of South Africa. It draws on data from an adapted photovoice methodology and other qualitative approaches such as journaling, mapping and open-ended interviews, to explore the diverse needs, experiences and aspirations of those who participated. Shedding light on the ways in which migrant sex workers navigate their 'complex personhoods', it illustrates the dangers of gendered laws and practices and the urgency to move away from salacious narratives that disregard, flatten and/or overlook migrant sex workers' lived experiences. It also provides a reflection on the strengths and limitations of participatory research with migrants who sell sex in South Africa.