ZIMBABWE: Constitutional Court Outlaws Arrests of 'Prostitutes'

The Constitutional Court on Wednesday ruled against the routine arrests of women on allegations of soliciting for paid sex in the streets.

The court said as long as there were no men who would confirm being approached by the women for the service the arrests were unconstitutional.

Nine women filed an application challenging the constitutionality of Section 81 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23], after they were arrested and charged with soliciting for the purposes of prostitution.

In their application, the women argued that the crime of soliciting requires allegations of an act and a person so acted upon rather than the mere fact of being found at a street corner or being a woman in the central business district at night.

The women, who argued that they were a vulnerable group, also said their right to personal liberty guaranteed in Section 49 of the Constitution and their right to equal protection and benefit of the law under Section 56 (1) of the Constitution had been violated.