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Vanessa Bassi

Dr. Maili

English Section C

25 February 2021

Sex Work and the Untouchable World

COVID-19 has been destroying many different career fields since last March, but one

that goes unseen is the sex work industry. There are roughly two million sex workers in the

United States alone and roughly 42 million in the entire world. A typical day in the life of a sex

worker starts with a late awakening to several missed texts and phone calls, many from unknown

contacts. Preparing for your first of several clients for the day by cleaning yourself and

sometimes your home, is vital. If leaving the house, workers must prepare with pepper spray,

tasers, anything at all to protect them if someone gets a little too violent. Going out also comes

the fear of being arrested, of which 70,000 and 80,000 sex workers get arrested every year in the

United States. This is a sad reality for the thousands of employees that go out each day for their

line of work. COVID-19 has unfortunately made things worse by shutting down avenues for

their work, switching everything online, and withholding funding from them.

The current COVID-19 regulations have made sex work dangerous and unsafe for

workers in the field. These employees aren’t even considered by legislation when closing down

places like strip clubs and brothels, but their consumers are. The Federal and State government

are more troubled with the infection of consumers, so they’ll put these employees in jeopardy of

financial struggle and hardships when they should be equally as concerned for the safety of both

parties. Without conventional regulations made in such a personal field, these self-employed
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workers have been expected to fend completely for themselves during the pandemic. “Driven by

financial need, sex workers are more likely to agree to meet with clients they do not feel

comfortable with or negotiate safety measures, such as condom use” (Stacey-Leigh Manuel,

“The Multiplying Threats...”). Letting these men and women slip through the cracks, putting

their lives and families in danger is unacceptable; letting them continue their job regularly

without any amendments due to COVID-19 will only make matters worse - losing more and

more jobs, hurting the economy, and tearing homes apart. Not only is this group more susceptible

to violence, but they’re also becoming physically involved with random people while a

contagious virus is spreading and killing thousands daily. Loss of money leads to fewer

precautions taken for each client - workers are more likely to agree to something if it means they

can eat another day. With more citizens staying inside, there are fewer clients in the field. This

means long hours of searching for consumers, causing exhaustion, exposure to COVID-19, and

possibly more money to pay for childcare (for those with children).

The pandemic has required sex workers to use computer technology to continue working

online, but it isn’t as easy as it sounds. A lot of energy, time, and money are invested in linear

work (such as an OnlyFans page). Alice Little, an employee of the business, explained that for

her to move her work completely online she would need to invest at least a thousand dollars in

equipment. This includes things like a webcam, studio lights, faster wifi, and much, much more.

Simply existing as a sex worker is a lot more work than the general public may realize

(Barrett-Ibarria, “Here’s How Much...”). Not to mention the thick skin that they need to take

constant criticism and harassment online. Switching to online work isn’t as simple as joining a

zoom call for women and men in the sex work industry.
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Sex workers aren’t receiving any assistance financially due to sex work being illegal in

the United States (besides Nevada), and they’ve been put on the back burner for months now by

the government. “...sex workers are also experiencing punitive crackdowns such as raids on their

homes and workplaces and increased surveillance, arrests, fines, and violence...” (Randi Singer,

“COVID-19 Prevention and Protecting...”). This is happening in places such as Norway and the

Democratic Republic of Congo. The pandemic has enabled even more of a disadvantage to this

group. Places like New York City and Los Angeles have some of the greatest numbers of sex

workers, Los Angeles County having roughly 150,000 women alone. Both of these cities are also

huge COVID-19 hotspots in the United States. With no money for unemployment and no places

open for them to work safely, these men and women are at a crossroads: don’t work at all and not

have money for necessities, continue to work and endanger themselves, their loved ones, and

their customers in the process, or change their job entirely?

COVID-19 has taken so much from this marginalized group, a group that is already so

subject to hatred and violence. By placing a complete hold on their life's work, America

suffocates them with the feeling of isolation and rejection. Safety and compassion are what are

key here, and to move forward into this next phase of the worldwide pandemic, we must support

those around us, regardless of their job title, their situation, or their background. We are all

humans who want a place in this world, and we can’t let each other fall behind due to our

differences or our disagreements. One thing we can all agree on is that COVID-19 was a hard hit

to all of us, and we all could use a helping hand in this time of sacrifice and hurt.
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Works Cited

Barrett-Ibarria, Sofia. “Here’s How Much It Really Costs To Be An Online Sex Worker.”

Www.HuffPost.Com, Buzzfeed, Inc., 13 Apr. 2020,

www.huffpost.com/entry/online-sex-work-cam-only-fans-covid-19_n_5e8de205c

5b6359f96d0c2d4.

Manuel, Stacey-Leigh. “The Multiplying Threats Facing Sex Workers Today.”

Www.Opensocietyfoundations.org/, Open Society Foundations, 1 Sept. 2020,

www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/the-multiplying-threats-facing-sex-work

ers-today.

Singer, Randi, et al. “COVID-19 Prevention and Protecting Sex Workers: A Call to

Action.” US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, Springer

Nature, 14 Oct. 2020, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.