By Ogochukwu Ononiwu

Sex workers are one of the many invisible demographics in our neighborhood whose work came to a standstill due to the pandemic. As a result, many of those affected have had to rethink what sex work looks like for the “new normal.”

Debra, a Lehman student and sex worker had an online presence before the pandemic forced her to become fully remote. “Because of the virus, now it’s mostly remote modeling and [other forms]. Sex work is kind of impossible right now,” she said. Sex workers face even more discrimination because they are seen as disease-spreaders, she added. She now relies on her education, tutoring, and previous experiences in the nonprofit world to get by.

Before the advent of COVID-19, Debra explained that sex work allowed her to reach her goals. She was working towards a degree in health services administration and sociology when she first turned to sex work was as a model and adult film actress at the age of 22. Across most of the United States, while prostitution is illegal, sex work has various legal forms like stripping and pornography.

Debra went into sex work consciously, she explained, as a means to support herself, her grandmother, and her partners. In 2014, she became more active in sex work because of school expenses. “Sometimes I would go straight from school to the club… I was juggling so many things at the same time. I would do my women studies homework in the locker room of the strip club.” Debra describes her experience as a perspective on hierarchies; depending on a worker’s position in the strata they would encounter fewer struggles.

Paul, the coordinator of the Red Umbrella Fund, a Netherlands-based global fund led by and for sex workers, explained that with the onset of COVID-19, the organization had changed how funds were allocated. It also shares information to support sex workers in dealing with the pandemic.

Paul became a prostitute as a minor and used his funds to pay for his two master’s degrees relating to his interest in international policies and human rights. He recalled, “I did not identify as a sex worker at the time, and then I listened to a radio show. It was about female students who were into sex work… and I realized that they were speaking about me. I was one of these students. I was not a woman, but a man and a prostitute.”

There is a lack of support for sex workers in Europe as well as the US, Paul said. “In Spain, sex workers don’t have access to any government support because their work is not recognized as work, and they are treated as victims. The only way that they could get money in the period they could not work or that it was difficult to work without putting themselves at risk is by to signing a paper saying that they were trafficked and forced to do that job in order to enter and exit prostitution records.” As a result, he said, “you get fake numbers on human trafficking.” 

According to the Global Network of Sex Work Project, the conflation of sex work and trafficking started in the 20th century and targeted migrant sex workers. Although sex work is a choice, legislature and early feminists felt the need to attack sex work due to their belief that sex work is undignified labor and it upholds the patriarchy. Due to such practices, the livelihood of sex workers is still put in danger.

Raids of brothels and the criminalization of sex work have forced many migrant sex workers to work in unsafe conditions for the fear of being deported or arrested. Often, police raids legitimize violence and abuse of sex workers because of preconceived notions which leads sex workers to be treated as either victims or criminals.

Alexis, a Lehman student, sees sex workers as people who are simply monetizing off an existing demand, whether they are performing sexual acts or providing fantasies.  In her opinion, “I don't feel like they are being exploited because this is their choice to provide services in different aspects for profitable gain. I do, however, feel that society is still struggling with the idea that this is real work and have negative connotations still being put out there based on these women's choice of profession. The thought of sexually liberated entrepreneurial women scares men.”