In mid May, over one thousand sex-workers living on GB road, a sex-work area in Delhi, sought aid from social activists providing food for those deprived of their livelihood during the COVID-19 crisis. Several sex workers told me they are worried about their survival as they expect the pandemic to impact their incomes for months to come.
“We did not get any help from the government, some social workers provided us food,” a sex worker and a resident of GB road told me on the condition of anonymity. She added that the ration would last them ten days. “We do not have any money left and are running out of fuel to cook now.” She continued, “I have been living here for 20 years. Most people living here do not have ration cards, but have an Aadhar card. No one from the government or any elected representative has enquired about our plight.” Another sex worker, who is also a resident of GB road, told me, “We have no source of income now. The government should provide us financial aid.” Social activists told me that several sex workers were concerned about the nutrition and education of their children.
The lack of government support has been compounded by the social discrimination faced by the sex workers, which has restricted access to relief aid. “Most people who are providing food for the needy do not come forward to help sex workers because of the stigma associated with their work,” Iqbal Ahmed, a Delhi-based social activist told me. “Many were unwilling to help with collecting and distributing ration kits when they heard the name GB road. Sometimes, even the donations collected in their name do not reach them. A lot of work that some NGOs claim to do for sex workers happens just on paper.”
Two organisations that represent sex workers—the All India Network of Sex Workers and the National Network of Sex Workers—have written to central government bodies and sought inclusion in social-security measures. The AINWS is a collective of at least five lakh sex workers across the country, while NNSW is a network of sex workers’ organisations across south India, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Gujarat.
On 15 April, Kusum, the president of AINWS, wrote to director general of the National Aids Control Organisation and highlighted the issues faced by sex workers. NACO, which works under the ministry of health and family welfare, leads HIV/AIDS control programmes in the country. It also provides health screening and HIV medication, under a targeted intervention programme, for high-risk populations identified by NACO such as “female sex workers” and “male having sex with male.”
“NACO have best way to reach, unreached population who is struggling to livelihood, hunger, financial crisis, mental health and demotivation,” Kusum’s letter said. “NACO has proper mechanism and huge experience to reach very marginalized community and link them with proper agencies to get all possible support at their doorstep. But unfortunately our old decade friendship is not showing necessary outcomes as far as relieves during Covid time.”
On 11 May, the Delhi High Court heard a petition filed by advocate Anurag Chauhan that sought directions to the central and Delhi government to provide food, shelter and medicines to sex workers and the LGBT community during the lockdown period. The court dismissed the petition stating, among other reasons, that the petitioner did not know “how such people/persons are to be identified.” The judges added, “To say the least, the petition is filed without any ground work and without any thought to it.”
However, according to AINSW and NNSW, the implementation of social-security schemes and relief aid could be done through NACO’s existing targeted-intervention programme, in addition to the state and district-level community-based organisations working with these networks. The AINSW suggested several relief measures in its letter to NACO, which included providing the community with dry ration, financial assistance of at least Rs 2,000 per worker, transportation facilities for stranded people, masks and sanitisers, access to reproductive-health services, and counselling for mental-health issues. They also asked the government to come up with a six-month plan for sex workers who would be unable to work even after the lockdown ends.
Describing similar concerns, the NNSW wrote a letter on 14 May, to the national task force on COVID-19, a body comprising leading scientists that was constituted to advise the central government on its pandemic response. “Sex workers will be deprived of work for the next six to twelve months due to required physical distancing norms,” the letter said. “It is important to keep them and their families safe and protected from destitution during this period.”
Referring to the public distribution system, the NNSW letter added, “Relief must be aimed at providing a safety net to ensure that sex workers do not have to expose themselves or their potential clients to risk during this period. We request you to issue directions to State departments dealing with food distribution to ensure support to sex workers regarding food grains under PDS scheme.” The letter further said that those who are not covered under the PDS should be reached through other welfare schemes.
On 20 May, NACO wrote to the ministry of social justice and empowerment to include those under NACO’s targeted-intervention programme in all its social-protection schemes. NACO argued that the individuals were “greatly affected in terms of livelihood, nutrition, and access to shelter and other essential services.” However, the AINSW has not yet received a response from NACO or the health ministry.
According to Kusum, like other migrant workers, sex workers have been returning to their native places. “Till the fear of COVID-19 subsides, this situation will remain the same,” she told me. “House owners would give exemption of rent for maximum one month, after that it will be difficult to pay.” She added that though activists have provided dry ration and essentials such as sanitary pads, and the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights provided nutrition supplements for children, it was unsustainable for them to stay. “We can’t expect it to continue and people will run out of food soon,” she said. NACO, the health ministry and the ministry of social justice and empowerment did not respond to queries on the concerns raised by sex workers’ networks.
Nisha Gulur, the treasurer of the Karnataka Sex Workers Union and vice president of NNSW, told me that sex workers should be “accepted and included” among workers in the informal sector. “Whatever schemes are made available for them should be provided for sex workers too,” she said. In early May, the Karnataka government had announced a relief package worth Rs 1,610 crore to benefit those impacted by the COVID-10 lockdown. It also announced a one-time compensation of Rs 5,000 to service professionals such as barbers, washermen, autorickshaw and taxi drivers. “Why are sex workers not included under these schemes?” Gulur asked.
Gulur added that some members of the network in the state have discussed supplementing their livelihoods with work such as selling vegetables, fruits and flowers, but they would also need government support. “With the existing conditions of the market, we are not sure how this would be possible” she said. “Providing health services to address the mental-health issues faced by sex workers during this period of distress is also important.”
According to Kiran Deshmukh, the president of the NNSW, a majority of sex workers do not have official documents because of which they are left out of government schemes. She estimated that around eight percent of the community did not have ration cards, and only fifty percent had a voter’s ID. “Most people migrate from their native places and it is difficult to get ration cards,” she said. “Sometimes, the officials also ask for bribe or sexual favours to issue them.” Kusum added that making microloans available with minimum documents would help sex workers start small, income-generating activities.
Rajneesh MR, a member of NNSW and a programme coordinator for the Kerala Network of Sex Workers, told me that in Kerala, the ration kits provided by the government had reached sex workers. “Most of the sex workers here live with families,” he said. “Others who needed help were provided facility to travel to their native places or taken to government-run shelter homes, when the lockdown was being introduced.” However, he too emphasised that sex workers need financial aid as they will not be able to return to work when the lockdown is lifted.
Both the AINSW and NNSW said that that they had not received any assistance from the National Commission for Women or the Delhi Commission for Women. “The current situation is very bad,” Deshmukh told me. “No one cares about our community. If and when customers turn up, the sex workers here have been turning them away.” She added, “We are following the guidelines to prevent COVID-19 issued by the government, but the government is not doing anything for us.”