COVID-19 Impact – Africa

Source
NSWP
Year
2020

In April 2020, NSWP launched a global survey to understand the impact of COVID-19 on sex workers. The survey received 156 responses in total from 55 different countries out of which 22 responses were from 13 countries – Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Togo, Tunisia, and Zambia – in the Africa region.

The COVID-19 pandemic, as with other health crises, exposes existing inequalities and disproportionately affects people already criminalised, marginalised and living in financially precarious situations, often outside social protection mechanisms. As a result of the pandemic, sex workers all over the world are experiencing hardship, a total loss of income and increased discrimination and harassment. This report looks at the impact of COVID-19 on sex workers, government responses to the crisis, and how the sex worker community in Africa is responding.

You can download the 10-page report above. It is available in English, French, Russian, Spanish, and Chinese.