Sex Workers\u2019 Work-Related Victimisation and Drug Use During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Switzerland

Lorena Molnar,Jenny Ros

doi:10.1007/s43576-022-00045-2

Abstract

Criminologists have monitored the coronavirus pandemic’s effects on crime and criminal justice since the pandemic’s outbreak. Nonetheless, vulnerable and difficult-to-reach populations have been understudied thus far. This study sheds light on the experiences of sex workers (SW) during the first year of the coronavirus in Switzerland, a country where prostitution is legal. Based upon 40 questionnaires with SW outdoors and indoors and 50 h of field observation, SW reported that the pandemic has had adverse financial and psychosocial effects on them. During the first year of COVID-19, seventeen SW were victims of at least one work-related offence, the most prevalent of which were theft and fraud. Nevertheless, most SW did not report the incidents to the police. Comparing the non-victims with victims, we found that victims, particularly those of multiple crimes, are younger, more often foreigners from extra-EU countries, in an illegal situation and needed to work face to face during the prostitution ban during the lockdown in Switzerland. However, despite these circumstances, most SW do not use illegal drugs, and only a few of them used more during the pandemic. Our research findings were similar to those reported in former studies, although we could infer that the violent victimisation of our sample is less and none of the SW indicated violence on the part of the police. Nevertheless, we have no point of comparison with former years and thus propose a periodic crime victim survey of SW, as well as further prevention measures in the prostitution area.

Highlights

This article adopts a criminological perspective and addresses the experiences of sex workers (SW) during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic in Switzerland, one of the few countries in the world where sex work is legal (Danna, 2014) and one in which the coronavirus-related lockdown was rather flexible
It is plausible that these crimes are the most frequent because of the many opportunities that emerge for motivated offenders, in the prostitution neighbourhood: The SW, who normally carry cash, are an attractive target for both customers and passers-by, who walk, and sometimes even loiter, in the zone for hours and who can monitor SW’ movements and decide the best moment to steal from them
We do not possess a Swiss comparison point vis-à-vis the victimisation of SW in a conventional setting—and cannot carry out a pre-post-pandemic assessment such as the one Boyer (2020) conducted—our results are similar to those of previous studies, with respect to the high prevalence of work-related victimisation in prostitution (Deering et al, 2014)

Summary

Introduction

This article adopts a criminological perspective and addresses the experiences of sex workers (SW) during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic in Switzerland, one of the few countries in the world where sex work is legal (Danna, 2014) and one in which the coronavirus-related lockdown was rather flexible. International Criminology few empirical studies have been published to date vis-à-vis SW’ experiences related to violence during the pandemic This is understandable: To interview or survey SW during a lockdown is highly challenging because of the prohibition to be on the streets and the respondents and researchers’ risk of contagion (Silva & Câmara, 2020), as well as the clandestinisation of sex work during the epidemic (Azam et al, 2021; Callander et al, 2021), all of which have rendered SW even more difficult to reach than usual. We collected data from three sources: (1) 50 h of field observations in Lausanne’s prostitution neighbourhood, the office of the association, and erotic massage salons in Vaud, during which we conducted questionnaires and accompanied social workers in their daily tasks; (2) thirty-three face-to-face questionnaires; and (3) seven online self-administered questionnaires. This diversified our sample, because there are many SW who come to Switzerland only occasionally and do not speak any other language

39 Women 1 Non-binary

Findings

Discussion and Conclusion