Sex trafficking has long been separated from the broader crime of human trafficking. But some are beginning to question whether this separation is useful—or even whether it’s actively harmful. Sex workers’ rights advocates argue that the division makes it easier for people to conflate all sex work with trafficking, inspiring misled campaigns to eliminate sex […]
Destitute sex workers are working through the pandemic. It doesn’t have to be that way In the coronavirus pandemic, few professions are as hazardous as sex work. The disease spreads through close physical contact, and sex work is an activity with a high risk of transmitting the virus. But, unlike almost all other professions, sex […]
“The virus comes on top of a crisis of poverty, especially among women. Most sex workers are mothers, mainly single mothers, who have been made poorer by austerity cuts. One and a half million people have been made deliberately destitute by government policies and four million children are living in poverty. That means that 100,000s of families […]
Calls have been made for an emergency fund to support sex workers whose earnings have fallen during the coronavirus crisis. A third of escorts have been continuing to offer face-to-face meetings, estimated one sex worker. The English Collective of Prostitutes said there was precedent for a support fund and without one many had to choose […]
Agencies have criticised the lack of action to protect the health needs of sex workers during the pandemic, with the English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP) warning of a “ticking time bomb of health problems.”Sex workers are at heightened risk of ill health,1 and violence,2 said the ECP, and unless the services they rely on resume normal […]
COVID-19 threatens both the lives and livelihoods of sex workers yet governments look the other way. A new publication seeks to help sex workers get their attention. Decriminalisation debates remain central to discussions about how to best address human trafficking. At the heart of these considerations are questions around whether trafficking can best be […]
“We have nowhere to turn if clients stop coming to see us. Our community is facing a crisis”.Many sex workers in the UK are now are being put in the perilous position of choosing to feed their families or risking their health – and the health of their loved ones, campaign groups have warned.Additional powers […]
Sojourner Truth with Margaret Prescod · April 23, 2020 Today on Sojourner Truth: Coverage of the impact of COVID-19 on sex workers. Should they be eligible for economic relief? Our guests are Niki Adams and Rachel West. Niki Adams is a spokeswoman for the English Collective of Prostitutes, a network of women working in […]
The lockdowns imposed in most European countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic have brought to the forefront a reality that sex worker collectives have been highlighting for decades: the criminalisation of sex work puts lives at risk. In the past weeks, grassroots organisations have been working to raise funds and provide essential products to sex […]
Saskia HagelbergSex workers are a marginalised social group who face near constant opposition in the form of stigma and legal obstacles. COVID-19 has exacerbated the adverse condition of sex workers, many of whom have seen their income reduced in part or entirely as a result of social distancing. Like many precarious workers in the gig-economy, […]