Women who sell or exchange sex and coronavirus

[AnnaClick]

Hi everyone. I’m Anna and I’m one of the people in Scotland working on the urgent task of making sure women involved in all parts of the sex industry or selling or exchanging sex are able to get access to support and information and financial help right now. We know this is a really difficult and scary time and we are urgently trying to get in touch with women. We need to hear what you need and what are the best ways to get that support and help to you. We also want to make sure that decision makers know this right now too. If you are involved then it would be great to hear from you, or if you know of someone then please pass on our info. I’m available at www.click.scot/voice/ or [email protected] I’ll also be on our online chat here www.click.scot/contact/ Tuesday 11-1 and Wednesday from 2-4pm. Our online support is also available every week day from 11am-3pm – you can check out twitter for up-to-date online support times @click_scotland Thanks.

I'm not in Scotland, but if it takes MEN to be at risk from the exchange for sex for money, for women to receive help, Heaven help us all.
Noone cares that much about the routine loss of female life and health due to the sex industry.

Have you posted on saafe.info?

There is Covid related porn on Porn Hub so we really haven't got a hope in hell (which is free access during lock down, men get to wank, women get cleaning instructions and home schooling.)

I hope all those making claims of sex-positivity and sex work is work have a good long look at themselves. It's vile.

Hi Everyone, thanks for your messages so far. At CLiCK, we are focused on providing support to women who sell or exchange sex online and have been doing that since August 2019. We are aware that this is a particularly difficult time for them so urgently want to speak with women in order to ensure their needs are met.

@HirplesWithHaggis thanks for your suggestion - we have a thread on SAAFE currently. If you know of any other forums etc we can try and reach women then we would love to hear of them.

Thanks everyone!

Click “are funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport via the Tampon Tax Fund.”

You actually raise some interesting points OP.

In an increasingly dangerous environment are workers being provided with safe PPE by their employers? What kind of sick leave / carers leave are they entitled to? What security do they have if they need to self isolate and will their employer ensure they will be able to self isolate should they need to?

As you say this is an industry and with all other industries stringent measures are in place to ensure safety and welfare of employees is paramount. For example in my workplace there are clear guidelines for compensation should an employee be injured in the workplace and a full inquiry would follow. Also bullying and abuse is not tolerated. Does that apply to this industry?

Yes, sonetluminere, I'm very interested in Anna's position.

A draft letter to send to Mps
notbuyingit.org.uk/take-action-prostitution/
Corona puts the already very vulnerable women in the sex trade at even more risk. Call on our elected representatives to take emergency steps, create a properly resourced plan and put it into action - urgently:

Suggestion of special funding comparable to homeless people. Not from a pro sex work point of view, but a pro women point of view

Done , although as my MP is a Lib Dem she no doubt views prostitution as a legitimate career.

Why are people being so horrible to the OP?

The important thing is that the women who are vulnerable are being supported right now.

Hi Ginger, this is Mumsnet, we are vipers.
The sexual health clinics are closed at the moment, and health and police forces are stretched. This is from Click’s website, from the covid-19 section: We understand that many women are experiencing high numbers of cancellations and fewer bookings than usual at the moment, which can make maintaining boundaries difficult.
But nowhere on that website does it say meeting men for sex for money isn’t a good idea during a pandemic.
Many of us care about sex workers, Right now I am most worried about Covid-19 and the effects on those I love. I am making lots of sacrifices to protect my community.
I don’t think prostitution is good for my community. I really don’t think prostitution is good for my community right now.

Are you attempting to garner financial support for prostituted women
which is fine), or are you attempting to create exemptions to the stay at home rules for them (which would be completely insane)? New York City already published some pretty clear and direct guidance about sex during the outbreak, and it is in short "do not have sex with anyone who's not a member of your household, and if you won't listen to us and feel you must then keep the number of partners as low as possible".

Ah, so, based on the bit OneEpisode quoted, OP and her org have chosen the "completely insane" option.

Condoms do not protect from coronavirus. Anyone encouraging people to have sex with multiple people outside their household right now is contributing to the outbreak, and should be legally sanctioned for doing so.

This is not the "make people feel better about encouraging unwise decisions that put public health at risk" support board. If you care about women in the sex industry, try to get some sort of financial support for them, don't send them out to be unnecessarily exposed to coronavirus.

To be fair, “cam work” is wfh and is covered by this charity’s scope. But I don’t think FWR readers and “cam girls” overlap massively.

I wouldn't imagine that the rate of men stopping paying too watch camgirls is particularly high, the wording clearly implies that direct in person appointments are what's being cancelled. Which may well be the first good decision the men involved have made in years, so the implication that they're somehow letting the side down by doing so is particularly eyebrow raising.

I think anyone encouraging women to prostitute themselves right now are abusing them. The risks are crazy and it’s not essential.

Simple facts:

1. The majority of human beings who sell sexual access and services do so because they need the money and this is the best, or only way they can get it.
2. For some of those human beings this is a last resort in desperation.
3. Sexual access and services are incompatible with social distancing.
4. Those who sell sexual access and services are just as concerned as hairdressers, beauty therapists and similar about COVID19 in exactly the sane way.
5. Clients of those who sell sexual access and services are as concerned as clients of hairdressers, beauty therapists and similar about COVID19.
6. As a result of all the above most of those who sell sexual access and services now have no income.
7. Some of those human beings were already in dire straits financially.
8. Most of those human beings are also mothers responsible for providing for their children.
9. It is impossible to survive at the best of times without money, the UK is now in lockdown.

10. Some people believe those who sell sexual access and services are Their equals and adult human beings with a right to life, those people are fully within their rights to do whatever they can to help them at this time, and give others the choice of doing likewise.

11. Many here do not give a single solitary shit about the "Clients of those who sell sexual access and services". HTH.

@MrsDoylesTeabags
The majority of those who sell sexual access and services are freelance and in the same position as anyone else self employed In all these issues, the rest are employed as independent contractors and also in the same position as anybody self employed.

@TheProdigalKittensReturn
I am not sure of the relevance of your comment to the topic of helping those who sell sexual access and services survive COVID19 without income?

12. For those not clear on #11, maybe have a think about the fact that you are posting on a feminist forum.

(I can keep this up almost indefinitely, or a least until others come online.)

Anybody having sex for monetary gain, or their "customers" are contributing to the spread and potential death of people. A lot of the men are married or in long term relationships who then go home and contaminate their households and further on.

Since 'sex work' is not on the list of key workers, and since the latest lockdown instructions explicitly veto social interaction, not sure how you imagine prostitution is exempt?