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Chandigarh: In a city under lockdown, sex workers going without food, medical attention
Some of them do not even have money for facemasks or gloves
They have run out of money so they are dependent on NGOs for meals, no clients visit them as the city remains locked down because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Female sex workers (FSWs) here are struggling to make ends meet during the crisis.
Some of them do not even have money for facemasks or gloves.
“This has been my only source of income for the last 15 years after I was pushed into this profession to take care of my bedridden father,” says a woman.
“I have four children, I don’t have enough to feed them,” she adds.
Over 3,000 FSWs are registered with the Chandigarh State AIDS Control Society apart from an unspecified number living in the city.
Many of them say they have not had a single client in days.
Manpinder Kaur, project manager with the NGO Servants of the People Society, who has been helping these women since 2009, says: “SOPS takes care of 600 female sex workers, 50% of them newly initiated. The ones who have just started working are facing more hardships as they don’t have contacts. They are vulnerable, unlike the ones who are associated with pimps, who take care of them.”
In normal circumstances the FSWs work out of their own homes, visit clients at their homes or in rooms rented out by pimps.
“For 80% women, this is their only source of income. Old-timers with contacts are often forced to entertain clients even for basic essentials,” Kaur adds.
Another worker in her 30s with three children says she had ration for 10 days after a woman working with an NGO gave her wheat flour and pulses. “Now it’s finished. What do I do?” she asks.
Forced into this work to earn enough to educate her children, she says there are a lot of women like her who do not have rations, are sick and in need of medical attention.“Their names and demands were handed over to the area counsellor, but till date they have not received any help.”
Another 40-year-old woman says on a regular day she would earn Rs 500 to Rs 3,000. But since the lockdown, “in the entire month, I got only one client.”
Pinky Rani, project manager with the NGO Yuvsatta, who is looking after 648 FSWs, says some of the workers do not even have money for contraceptives.
Tapan Singh, project manager with Indian Public Health Association, says 50 % of sex workers, including males who have sex with males (MSMs) and transgender people, have no savings. They are from very poor backgrounds, and dependent on daily earnings. “These days, all they are worried about is where their next meal is coming from.”
Dr Sandeep Mittal, deputy director, State AIDS Control Society, says: “To reach out to the high risk groups, including FSWs, MSMs, truckers etc, we have 10 NGOs and on Thursday, we had a meeting with them, where issues faced by the sex-workers were also discussed. Definitely, with lockdown, their only source of livelihood has been hit. We are trying to provide help via organisations, but movement is restricted because of the lockdown.”
The lockdown has also impacted the regular medical check-ups for HIV and sexually transmitted infections. “As per protocol, a worker should be screened for STI four times a year and twice every year for HIV. So, daily we had lots of workers to be screened for. But because of lockdown, we are doing only need-based screening - only those who come have symptoms.”
