Sex workers are adults who receive money or goods in exchange for consensual sexual services or erotic performances, either regularly or occasionally. Over a decade, the lives of sex workers have not been easy. To remember the struggle due to discrimination of sex workers and their inhumane living and working conditions, June 2 has been marked as International Sex Workers Day.
Sex workers sell sexual services to earn a livelihood. The vast majority of sex workers choose to do sex work because it is the best option they have. Many sex workers struggle with poverty and destitution and have few other options for work. Others find that sex work offers better pay and more flexible working conditions than other jobs. And some pursue sex work to explore and express their sexuality.
Criminalization of sex work compromises sex workers’ health and safety by driving sex work underground. Criminalization includes everything from criminalizing the sale and purchase of sexual services, to blanket prohibitions on the management of sex work. Criminalization makes it harder for sex workers to negotiate terms with clients, work together with other sex workers for safety, and carry condoms without fear that they will be used as evidence of prostitution.
As the whole world is under the coronavirus lockdown, the sex workers across the globe are facing a major financial crisis. The plight of these workers is unfathomable during this period.
On April 8, the Global Network of Sex Work Projects and UNAIDS released a statement highlighting the hardship and discrimination faced by sex workers in this time, urging countries to ensure that their human rights be respected and fulfilled.
The statement read: “… Whenever and wherever possible, sex workers are responsibly self-isolating in response to governments’ calls. However, when they are excluded from COVID-19 social protection responses, sex workers are faced with putting their safety, their health, and their lives at increased risk just to survive…”
Sex workers, like most workers, have diverse feelings about their work. Some sex workers dislike their work but find that it is their best or only option to make a living. Some are agnostic about their work but find that it offers flexibility or good pay. And some enjoy the work and find it all around rewarding or fun. Regardless of what sex workers think about their work, they deserve workplace health and safety and human rights.