COVID-19 and sex workers: human rights, the struggle for safety and minimum income

摘要

As the number of deaths around the world linked to COVID-19 surpasses 300,000, we are reminded once again of how marginalization and socio-economic status affect mortality rates at the micro and macro levels. For example, at the macro level, the latest cases from epidemiological studies indicate that poorer countries with a lower GDP could potentially have higher mortalities linked to COVID-19 (Lloyd-Sherlock et al. 2020). At the micro level, it has already been shown that racial minorities (e.g., Black communities) in the United States have higher rates of infection and death linked to COVID-19 (Laurencin and McClinton 2020). Similarly, in Canada, some have raised concerns about marginalized populations and their higher risk for COVID-19 cases (Jozaghi et al. 2020). We would like to raise concerns towards the risk of COVID-19 infection for sex workers and how the current state of legislation substantially increases this risk.