COVID-19 and the shifting organisation of sex work markets in Singapore.
Cult Health Sex
; 24(12): 1744-1759, 2022 Dec.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1575719
ABSTRACT
While past studies have sought to capture how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on the health and sexual lives of sex workers internationally, less attention has been paid to the reorganisation of sex markets as a result of COVID-19. We conducted a sequential exploratory mixed methods study using in-depth interviews, cyber ethnography and surveyor-administered structured surveys among sex workers. We report two key findings on how the pandemic has impacted sex markets in Singapore. First, the organisation of sex markets shifted as a result of lockdown and associated movement control measures. This shift was characterised by the out-migration of sex workers, the reduction in supply and demand for in-person sex work, and a shift towards online spaces. Second, we found that sex workers experienced greater economic hardship as a result of such changes. Given the potential shifts in sex markets as a result of the pandemic, we adopt a World Health Organisation Health Workplace Framework and Model to identify interventions to improve the occupational safety and health of sex workers in a post-COVID-19 era.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Sex Work
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Qualitative research
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
Cult Health Sex
Journal subject:
Behavioral Sciences
/
Social Sciences
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
13691058.2021.2014975
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS