Being a sex worker in pandemic times: between survival and re-stigmatization

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic generated a planetary crisis whose consequences were felt most intensely by groups living in conditions of vulnerability or social exclusion. In this context, sex workers were one of the groups forgotten by the State and society, mainly because of the social stigma placed on them due to the social constructions of gender surrounding female sexuality. This article seeks to analyze some of the impacts that the pandemic had on the practice of sex work and on the daily lives of sex workers in Cuenca, Ecuador, as well as the strategies they used for survival, including the options offered by new information and communication technologies. The research used a qualitative and ethnographic methodology that reconstructed the experiences of these women during this particular period, based on dialogue with sex workers and key actors linked to this line of work, direct observation in the various spaces where sexual services are offered, and information gathered from secondary sources. It is an attempt to contribute knowledge from a gender perspective, given the academic gap on the subject. The research showed that the pandemic resulted in a re-stigmatization of women and their bodies, which were seen as possible sources of the spread of COVID-19. This phenomenon led women into a process of renewed clandestinization and deepened their situation of insecurity, showing how, in times of crisis, the social and moral sanction imposed on this activity becomes more acute.