The Three Weeks Nationwide Lockdown imposed by India to curb the spread of the new coronavirus last month has triggered a mass exodus of migrant workers from cities as economic activity came to a standstill. This has hit the livelihood of thousands of sex workers in the country.
Like migrant workers, they could not go back to their natives since they are socially boycotted by their families and villages on many occasions. The loss of income overnight has plunged one of the most vulnerable and marginalized groups into the depths of anxiety and deprivation.
Things may ease for many when the Lockdown is eased but the plight of the Sex Workers will continue for some more months since their customers are unlikely to turn out for obvious reasons. The relief package announced by the Government to the poor barely as the Sex work is like the informal of the informal economy.
Sex work in India is governed by the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956. It is currently illegal to solicit sex sales in public and to organize commercial sex. So, the Governments are not legally bound to help them. In India, the number of sex workers could be anywhere between 1.25 million and 3 million.
