abstract In 2017 the Western Cape High Court convicted acclaimed painter, Zwelethu Mthethwa, of the brutal murder of sex worker, Nokuphila Khumalo. This profile offers a feminist-legal analysis of the judgment and sentence handed down by Judge Patricia Goliath. Essentially, it explores the various inequalities between Khumalo and Mthethwa and its impact on Khumalo’s vulnerability to violence. The author argues that Khumalo’s dichotomous and disadvantageous position to Mthethwa, due to her sex, gender, the criminalised status of her work and her socio-economic status, enabled the brutal and fatal attack which Mthethwa perpetrated against her. Ultimately, it is argued that Khumalo’s murder was a consequence of her ‘low’ status in society, based on the various grounds of vulnerability and inequality that enabled her murder. The judgment and sentence provided a sense of justice for Khumalo, her surviving family members and all other sex workers in South Africa; however, true and meaningful justice cannot be delivered under the criminalisation of sex work. It is further concluded that to some extent, the judgment and sentence has ‘humanised’ sex workers by sending the message to society that sex workers have the right to have their human dignity, equality and freedom respected, protected and fulfilled.

中文翻译：

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S v Mthethwa：面对定罪为性工作者伸张正义？

摘要 2017 年，西开普高等法院判定著名画家 Zwelethu Mthethwa 残忍谋杀性工作者 Nokuphila Khumalo。本简介对帕特里夏·歌利亚法官 (Patricia Goliath) 作出的判决和判决进行了女权主义法律分析。从本质上讲，它探讨了 Khumalo 和 Mthethwa 之间的各种不平等及其对 Khumalo 易受暴力侵害的影响。提交人辩称，Khumalo 对 Mthethwa 的二分法和不利地位，由于她的性别、性别、她工作的犯罪地位和她的社会经济地位，使得 Mthethwa 对她进行了残酷和致命的攻击。最终，有人认为 Khumalo 被谋杀是她在社会中“低”地位的结果，基于使她被谋杀的各种脆弱性和不平等的理由。判决和判决为 Khumalo、她在世的家人和南非的所有其他性工作者提供了一种正义感；然而，在将性工作定为刑事犯罪的情况下，无法实现真正​​和有意义的正义。进一步的结论是，在某种程度上，判决和判决通过向社会传递信息，即性工作者有权得到尊重、保护和实现其人格尊严、平等和自由，从而使性工作者“人性化”。