PANJIM: A study on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on commercial sexual victims and transgender has indicated that relief measures announced by the government have by and large not reached out to this vulnerable section.
A virtual consultation held with 212 participants comprising of former and present victims of commercial sexual exploitation and transgender across four locations of Kolkata, Delhi, Goa and Mumbai, showcased how the pandemic and subsequent lockdown as well as restrictions impacted earnings of participants.
In Goa, NGO ARZ attempted to highlight the plight of these victims wherein several participants claimed they had to compromise on basic needs like food and medical care.
“Given that participants had weak or no family support, they were mostly the primary earning members in the family, and were from weak socio-economic backgrounds; they struggled to shoulder the responsibility of meeting basic needs on their own. This brought added psychological stress, increased debts, and threat of further vulnerability and exploitation,” reads an extract of the report that also refers to ordeal faced by victims across different regions in the country.
Even before the lockdown, they were struggling financially and their basic needs were severely compromised.
“Following the lockdown that had subsequent restrictions on movement of people, and closing of informal sector employment units; there was almost complete loss of income. Participants earning from commercial sex had to stop seeing customers or had customers stop visiting them. Women who were formerly engaged in commercial sex and earning through other means had lost jobs, or were asked to stay at home unpaid till the lockdown was lifted, or received considerably lesser earnings. They were mostly engaged in unskilled and semi-skilled tasks and did not have job security,” it stated.
NGOs also pointed out to challenges faced by those engaged in commercial sex during the pandemic was mostly hidden. “Being highly stigmatized, they were unable to seek or demonstrate the support that they required when the lockdown was imposed to control the pandemic,” it said adding that after sex workers collectives sought attention to their challenges and support during the pandemic, the Supreme Court had ordered the States and Union Territories to supply dry rations to sex workers without insisting on production of identity documents.
Given the quantum of support that was required to meet the needs of the vast majority of its people, all citizens in need were not able to access such relief. The NGO in Goa has urged the government to consider disbursing monthly monetary relief to this marginalized section of the society on lines with Maharashtra government.
