Kenyan Sex Workers Say They Are COVID Crisis ’Essential Service’

Sex workers across the globe have faced dire economic threats as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and the worldwide shutdowns of regular daily activity that it has caused as authorities attempt to curb spread of the disease. A United Nations agency this week issued a statement calling on governments to include sex workers in their economic relief packages—which has not yet happened in such countries as South Africa, France, Japan, and the United States.  In Kenya, sex workers have come up with a new way that they hope they can use to rebuild their incomes during that country’s coronavirus shutdown, which began on shortly after the East African country confirmed its first case of the disease on March 13.  The legality of sex work in Kenya is ambiguous, with laws often varying from city to city. But in Mombasa this week, an advocacy group representing sex workers there has asked the local government to reclassify sexual services as “essential,” allowing the workers to see clients again, and resume earning an income, according to a report by the All Africa news service. "Since the scourge started, we have incurred losses,” Maryline Laini, head of the group High Voice Africa, told the news service. “The closure of bars, restaurants and clubs as a result of the curfew has rendered 90 percent of sex workers jobless. These were the places where we could get our daily bread.” Prior to the pandemic, Mombasa sex workers could command fees as high as 10,000 Kenyan shillings—or about $95— in a country where the average worker earns just $76 per month. A typical sex worker’s fee, however, could also be as low as 50 shillings, which is less than 50 cents in U.S. currency. Since the pandemic, those who have been able to continue working have reduced fees to as low as the equivalent of 20 cents. Laini says her group has also called on the government to include sex workers in any economic relief package designed to keep the Kenyan economy afloat. She told All Africa that sex workers in Kenya are now as likely to suffer the effects of starvation as die from coronavirus infection, due to their suddenly extinguished business. In Bangladesh, home of the world’s largest legal brothel, the situation appeared somewhat more hopeful for the country’s sex workers, who lost their jobs when the 12 government-approved brothels were ordered closed due to the pandemic. After initially offering only a single cash payment of about $25 and one 65-pound bag of rice, the Bangladeshi government now says it will supply food to the now-destitute sex workers “continuously” until the crisis has finally passed, according to a Reuters report.  Photo By Ninara / Wikimedia Commons