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Emerging evidence suggests that sex workers face unique and profound risks arising from the COVID pandemic. To illuminate the pandemic's effects on sex worker health and safety and identify intervention opportunities, from MayβAugust in-depth interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 15 sex workers, four service providers and two individuals who were both. Sampled sex workers included eight people of color, eight cisgender women, five cisgender men, three non-binary people, and one transgender woman.
Using Conservation of Resources Theory to define impacts on sex worker resources and resulting health and safety implications, a deductive thematic analysis was conducted. Seven resources were threatened due to the pandemic: work opportunity, sex work venues, social support, health services, money, food, and housing.
The loss of these resources was exacerbated by stigma β notably sex work criminalization β and significantly undermined health and safety by increasing food and housing instability, increasing risks of violence, and diminishing safer sex negotiation.
Six resources were activated in response: social support, digital skills, health knowledge, non-sex work employment, money, and resilience.
