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The crown crisis and associated work ban directly affected sex workers, she said in a press release on Thursday. Due to lack of income and loss of job and some place of residence, many existential questions arose: “It is about poverty, homelessness and hunger.”
Many sex workers have no savings, and government funds are used only slowly or not at all in this group. The relaxation announced by the Federal Council offered no job prospects for the next two months, and therefore relief for sex workers. Therefore, sex workers need support longer than other independent people or employees.
Many would have placed themselves in a situation of dependency out of necessity. They stayed with former clients or were allowed to continue living in a “free of charge” company. There is a danger that many may have to return these favors at some point in one way or another.
Violence and exploitation
Such arrangements are a breeding ground for violence and other situations of exploitation. To protect sex workers, quick and non-bureaucratic alternatives are needed, which should be made possible by the emergency fund.
The FIZ Center for Trafficking and Migration of Women, the Xenia Center for Sex Work in Bern and the Prokore Network for the Defense of Sex Workers in Switzerland created a national coordination office in early April. The position is supported by the Federal Office of Public Health and aims to protect sex workers from the negative effects of the crown crisis.
The first priority is to establish an emergency fund for shelter, food and medical care as a transition measure until possible access to government funds, including emergency aid, can be guaranteed.
