This archive report was first published on 15 June 2020.
On June 15, 2020, a group of organizations representing sex workers submitted a hygiene protocol to the authorities, aiming to limit the spread of the coronavirus and resume their work.
The protocol, developed by SekswerkExpertise, a platform that advocates for the improvement of sex workers' position, is based on existing protocols for other contact professions that were allowed to restart a month ago, such as hairdressers and beauticians.
According to the protocol, sex workers will change bed linen after every customer, work one-on-one or with a couple that shares a household, and frequently disinfect all objects on which they and customers breathe heavily.
Sex workers will also adapt their activities to avoid each other's 'moist breathing zone' and shower or wash before and after every appointment.
Sex workers have been feeling excluded from coronavirus aid, with some facing eviction due to unpaid rent and living on a diet of bread alone, according to Proud, a sex workers' interest organization.
Sex workers are strict about their health and hygiene, and the fact that they are not allowed to work is seen as arbitrary.
