This paper examines the prevalence of sexual corruption across the education, healthcare, and law enforcement sectors in South Africa. We suggest that contexts that encourage hierarchy and violence, and contexts where citizens have limited exit options, seem to be conducive to various forms of sexual corruption. Building on our unique survey data, collected between October 2024 and January 2025 in collaboration with the World Values Survey South Africa, we investigate who perceives sexual corruption as most prevalent, why citizens engage in sexual corruption and in which public service sector it is most prevalent. Our preliminary findings suggest that respondents believe that sexual corruption is more prevalent in the law enforcement sector compared to the education and health care sectors, and that individuals who are vulnerable, marginalized, and who believe violence against women is justifiable, are more likely to perceive higher levels of sexual corruption. This suggests that sexual corruption is most prevalent in contexts with limited exit options but also where violence and exploitation is most prevalent.
