ABSTRACT
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To review the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its public health response on key populations at risk of HIV infection, with a focus on sex workers. RECENT FINDINGS: Since last year several groups have documented how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the livelihoods and health of sex workers. We focus on case studies from Kenya, Ukraine, and India and place these in the broader global context of sex worker communities, drawing on common themes that span geographies. COVID-19-associated lockdowns have significantly disrupted sex work, leading to economic and health challenges for sex workers, ranging from HIV-related services to mental health and exposure to violence. Several adaptations have been undertaken by sex workers and frontline workers, including migration, a move to mobile services, and struggling to find economic supports. Strengthening community-based responses for future pandemics and other shocks is critical to safeguard the health of marginalized populations.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , HIV Infections , Sex Workers , COVID-19/epidemiology , Communicable Disease Control , Developing Countries , HIV Infections/epidemiology , Humans , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2 , Socioeconomic FactorsABSTRACT
We examine the typologies of workplaces for sex workers in Dnipro, Ukraine as part of the larger Dynamics Study, which explores the influence of conflict on sex work. We conducted a cross-sectional survey with 560 women from September 2017 to October 2018. The results of our study demonstrate a diverse sex work environment with heterogeneity across workplace typologies in terms of remuneration, workload, and safety. Women working in higher prestige typologies earned a higher hourly wage, however client volume also varied which resulted in comparable monthly earnings from sex work across almost all workplace types. While sex workers in Dnipro earn a higher monthly wage than the city mean, they also report experiencing high rates of violence and a lack of personal safety at work. Sex workers in all workplaces, with the exception of those working in art clubs, experienced physical and sexual violence perpetrated by law enforcement officers and sex partners. By understanding more about sex work workplaces, programmes may be better tailored to meet the needs of sex workers and respond to changing work environments due to ongoing conflict and COVID-19 pandemic.