Helping is sexy: a fundraising programme to support sex workers in a state of emergency
To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. The initiatives currently cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.
This societal initiative has been collected by: Elisabeth Anna Guenther and Celina Beck
Protecting all sex workers
In August 2020, Berufsvertretung Sexarbeit Österreich launched a campaign focusing on the precarious working conditions of sex workers in the context of the Covid19 crisis. It is a response to the government’s Corona aid support programmes and their access criteria, which exclude sex workers through bureaucratic hurdles.
The initiative aimed to help sex workers cope with their situation during the pandemic. Among sex workers, some groups are particularly in need of protection: migrant women, single mothers, people affected by poverty or in debt, people suffering from addiction, homeless or houseless people.
Sex in a state of emergency
The initiative aimed to help sex workers cope with their situation during the pandemic. Among sex workers, some groups are particularly in need of protection: migrant women, single mothers, people affected by poverty or in debt, people suffering from addiction, homeless or houseless people.
Due to the lockdown, sex workers had no income as sex work was legally prohibited between 3 November 2020 and 19 May 2021. Sexual services are not subject to the Austrian trade regulations and are thus excluded from revenue subsidy, as it was the case for other businesses. The guidelines for revenue subsidies explicitly state that “establishments engaged in the practice of prostitution” are exempted. As self-employed, sex workers can apply for money from the Hardship Fund, but often fail to meet access criteria, such as an Austrian bank account or proof of income.
The pressure to work illegally therefore increased and Berufsvertretung Sexarbeit Österreich was founded in response to this. BSÖ collected money through the fundraising campaign “Helping is sexy” which were then redistributed by the association, for example in the form of shopping vouchers for sex workers.
During lockdown, other feminist initiatives also supported sex worker; LEFOE, in Vienna, collected money for (migrant) sex workers, and Maiz, in Linz, created information videos in six languages to support (migrant) sex workers to apply for the Hardship Fund.
Berufsvertretung Sexarbeit Österreich was founded by sex worker and activist Shiva Prugger in response to the situation of sex workers during the pandemic. The centre Sophie – offering counselling and support in legal, social and health-related areas for women who are or have been involved in sex work – is used as the association’s headquarters.