Covid-19 creates problems for sex work industry

THE COVID-19 pandemic has created problems for the sex work industry with prostitutes complaining about losses in revenue and an increase in abuse by law enforcement officials.

Several organisations yesterday discussed sex worker issues. The Sonke Gender Justice activist group launched a report on the pandemic’s effects on the sex industry. Some sex workers complained about treatment by police – officers allegedly told them that if anything bad happened to them after curfew “they wouldn’t be taken seriously”.

Sex workers also complained about restrictions on their movement and their treatment at healthcare centres. The common statement from most was that they wanted their work to be professionalised and treated like any other job.

Those lobbying for the recognition of sex work said some municipal by-laws were prejudicing sex workers who would sometimes get picked up by law enforcement for loitering.

Sonke Gender Justice researcher, Fulufhelo Ramabulana, presented a report titled “Sidelined Experiences of Sex Workers Throughout Lockdown”.

“Asked if they felt at a greater safety risk, 54% of respondents said nothing had changed during lockdown; but 45.1% felt they were at greater safety risk; had become an easier target for law enforcement and also felt they were at a higher risk of contracting Covid-19. Only 18% felt protected by law enforcement throughout the lockdown,” Ramabulana said.

In the report, some sex workers said: “The police abuse us, they chase us on the streets, they beat us with sjamboks. They follow us to our houses, search our bags and take our money and phones. Police officers force me to sleep with them to release me.”