S Africa mulls legalizing prostitution

RUSTENBURG, South Africa: With hundreds of thousands of tourists expected in South Africa for the 2010 World Cup, a new debate has erupted over legalizing prostitution in a country with the world's largest AIDS epidemic.

Legal experts have already suggested proposals to legalize prostitution, saying police would be freed to focus on serious crime instead of petty vice - a position that has won support among some police officials.

Kim, 35, a transgendered sex-worker from Cape Town is familiar with the challenges of prostitution in South Africa, where reports of bribery and rape by police and other human rights violations are rife.