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The COVID restrictions introduced in early resulted in dramatic decreases in sex work income, leading to extreme financial vulnerability, food insecurity, and challenges in meeting other basic needs such as paying rent.
However, in a follow-up survey, sex workers reported the summer of as a key turning point, with the demand for sex work rebounding to closer to pre-pandemic levels. Notably, despite the average number of unique weekly clients not yet having fully rebounded, by the price per client and the total monthly sex work income had returned to pre-pandemic levels. This may potentially be explained by an increased number of repeat clients, which represented a larger proportion of all clients during the COVID pandemic.
COVID has had profound effects on the global economy, health, and wellbeing of households worldwide [ 1 , 2 ]. Marginalized groups and individuals working in the informal sector, including female sex workers FSW , have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic due to lower demand for their activity either because of fear of contagion or lockdowns, reduced financial protection, and a limited ability to navigate income shocks [ 3 β 5 ].
In addition, FSW were usually not covered by government social protection programs and were left with few economic prospects, increasing their vulnerability to violence [ 3 , 6 , 8 ]. However, public health restrictions evolved throughout the different waves of the pandemic, and these changes in regulation likely play an important role in how FSW continue to be affected.
