As a result of the COVID pandemic, sex workers all over the world are experiencing hardship, a total loss of income and increased discrimination and harassment. Many street sex workers who meet many clients have been tested positive and so far we have counted 3 sex workers dead. The crisis is endangering the lives of sex workers both if they choose to continue working and if they decide to stop. The majority of survey responses from Europe reported that their government had implemented social or physical distancing measures for all citizens.
Specific actions taken against sex workers were also reported, such as the closure of brothels, bars and massage parlors, crackdowns in areas known for street-based sex work, and a small number of reports from Germany, Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland, and United Kingdom of an increase in raids, arrests and prosecutions. These measures have left sex workers facing extreme poverty and, in some countries, has led to increased violence and harassment. Moreover, there are restrictions on circulation of all citizens, and one is allowed to go out of their home only with a signed declaration and have a "real" and "urgent" reason.
This has lead to police and army actually harassing all citizens, and sex workers are facing now doubly this violence, on top of the fact that they were already harassed by police before. In addition to a global economic crisis, access to healthcare has also been severely affected by the ongoing crisis. Over half the respondents reported reduced access to harm reduction services, and reduced access to condoms and lubricants were also reported in Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Romania, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, and United Kingdom.
Responses collected from the survey indicate that while many countries are offering different social protection and economic support schemes, these schemes are not always available for sex workers. We have established the hardship funds that work for us, set up support that works for us, lobbied for change and equal access and the rights of all in our community.
However, a common theme among the responses to our survey was that the emergency funding and supplies are unsustainable, as there is not enough to go around and they are allocated very quickly. We run out of money very fast because the need is much greater than we can cover. When asked about other ways in which the sex worker community has been supporting one another during the COVID pandemic, two responses gave more information on the ongoing legal support that organisations are offering to sex workers in Russia and the United Kingdom.
