With the upsurge of COVID-19 counts, the everyday lives of people have suffered significantly. Usual activities, such as hanging out with friends, going to the office, greeting each other with handshakes, hugging, etc. have all become risky. The virus is highly transmissible and infects others merely by being in close contact.
The repercussions of this ongoing pandemic can be evaluated from lockdown, restrictions, and quarantine. Being in self-isolation or under quarantine becomes an issue not because it forces us to live secluded but for its impact on our mental, emotional, physical, and psychological well-being.
To curb the spread of this virus, strict lockdowns have been imposed. This has severely affected the economic activities of almost every nation. While many sectors, such as health care, food production, and other essential services have been kept active, the standstill status of revenue-generating sectors has become a cause of supreme financial deficiencies.
The sectors that are bearing the burden of this crisis and remain active generally concern the social service sector. The life essential commodities can be avail of, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that everything is under control. Many sectors have lost their pace and have gone far behind their growth prospective.
If one compares the ramifications of the ongoing health crisis with that of the Spanish flu (1918-1920), it would be easy to conclude the extent of economic catastrophe currently affecting all of us. Now social distancing has become a new normal, which means no physical contact. Apparently, this is going to severely affect the lives of sex workers, isn’t it?
Today, through this blog, let’s all try to explore what sex workers are doing to make for living and how this crisis has affected their lives.
Prostitution & social distancing- A discordant combination!
Source: UNAIDS
Take a second & try to evaluate prostitution objectively. You will learn that it is a profession in which the sex workers are required to work daily as their livelihood depends merely on it. Moreover, even under the current circumstances, the demand for such services doesn’t seem to go down.
Irrespective of the fact the sex workers are going through tough times, there is enormous demand that will eventually get supplied. This simply means that the sex workers must innovate & try out different ways to carry on with their work. There is a health risk associated with physical contact, and hence, pursuing through differentiated methods becomes inevitable for sex workers.
Prior to COVID 19, people usually used to rely on escort services or adult web portals, such as Oklute UK. These portals allow the user to find the required services, negotiate the transaction, and avail of services easily. However, the current situation has altered the way one used to get the requisite services.
The customers as well as the sex workers are now conducting their business through irregular means. For instance, clients are availing of requisite services through local visits or unregulated agents. The sex workers are supposed to reach the apartments or rented rooms to complete the transaction. These irregular forms include a higher risk of getting infected.
Thus, prostitution & quarantine appear to be incompatible combination.
Same pleasure but higher health-related risks!
Source: Victoria News
There is a risk associated with prostitution amid the ongoing pandemic, which is COVID-19. How? Let’s explore.
COVID-91 virus affects the respiratory tract of the person infected and gets spread through droplets. The human nose continuously releases thousands of water droplets, especially while sneezing. These droplets carry the virus if the person is already infected.
Once the droplets are released in the air, they immediately settle down on a surface or floor as they are too heavy to sustain in the air for too long. The person coming in contact with these droplets, either by contracting with the infected person or by touching the surface containing droplets, gets infected with COVID-19.
It has to be acknowledged that merely touching the infected droplets won’t infect you, but if you touch your eyes, nose, or mouth before sanitizing your hands, then there is a risk. Now, during sexual intercourse, there is a lot of intimacy and closeness, which makes the persons involved vulnerable to COVID-19.
The virus can get contained in the saliva as well as the droplets coming out of the nose. While the medical evidence for the presence of virus in semen or vaginal fluid is lacking for now, still it is advisable that everybody should observe the utmost degree of caution.
You might be curious about how this virus might infect us during sexual intercourse? Sexual intercourse involves kissing, touching, licking, and other forms of oral acts. This virus is highly contagious and hence can get easily transferred from one person to other.
What preventive measures can be taken?
Source: DNA India
Since the severity of COVID-19 & the risks associated with it have been highlighted, let’s take a look at how you can prevent yourself from being infected & give pleasure to yourself at the same time.
Avoid sexual intercourse for the time being: Avoid getting physical with sex workers for the time being. Try to have sex alone. You can have sex with your partner but in the case of sex workers, you might become highly vulnerable to COVID-19 as sex workers maintain professional relationships with different clients. You never know from where and when you might get infected with this virus.
Well, control is something that makes little sense when it comes to sexual activities. So, if you decide to engage in sexual activities in such a situation anyway, then make sure you follow up with the following suggestions.
Avoid direct facial contact: You must avoid kissing or licking the person. Moreover, make sure that you are doing sex in such positions that minimize facial contact. You can also consider wearing gloves and masks.
Use a condom: It is important to note that the virus has yet to be been found in male semen or female vaginal fluid, even then the probability of transmission of the virus through sexual conduct has not been ruled out.
Whatever the situation might be, always make sure that you are maintaining good hygiene. If you apply these preventive measures in your daily life, you will certainly eliminate out the chances of getting affected with COVID-19.
