Sex workers in Thailand are facing loss of income and becoming increasingly vulnerable as a result of the restrictive measures put in place to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. Most Thai sex workers are not eligible for the social protection measures included in the government’s stimulus package while non-Thai sex workers don’t have access to any support.
In order to fully assess the impact that COVID-19 is having among sex workers, a community-led rapid assessment was launched in Thailand with support from UNAIDS.
Using a combination of on-line and telephone interviews with sex workers and representatives of sex worker networks around the country, the data collected will be used by UNAIDS to advocate for emergency support to sex workers at local level including leveraging individual donations as well as support from bilateral donors for sex worker-led communities.
The findings will also feed into the United Nations country team’s socio-economic impact assessment and will inform the development of recommendations for immediate actions to support the sex workers’ access to health and livelihoods during COVID-19.
