The Lancet: ‘Sex workers must not be forgotten in the COVID-19 response’

Lucy Platt of The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Jocelyn Elms of the East London Project, Luca Stevenson of the International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe, Steve Rolles of Transform Drug Policy, Rachel Stewart of the University of Kent and myself co-authored a paper for The Lancet.

Available to read here, we argue for the following:

  • All interventions and services must be designed and implemented in collaboration with sex-worker-led organisations.
  • Immediate cessation of arrests, raids, and prosecutions for sex work and minor drug-related offences, and long-term reform of policies and laws that have been shown to be harmful to health.
  • Financial benefits and social protection for all sex workers including migrants with illegal or uncertain residency status.
  • Maintenance and extension of person-centred services to address needs associated with mental health, alcohol and other drug use, physical and sexual violence, and sexual and reproductive health, including HIV treatment and transition-related care.

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