Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 May;25(5):1323-1330.
doi: 10.1007/s10461-020-03140-5. Epub 2021 Jan 2.

Life in the Balance: Young Female Sex Workers in Kenya Weigh the Risks of COVID-19 and HIV

Joanne E Mantell  1 , Julie Franks  2 , Maria Lahuerta  2 , Dan Omollo  3 , Allison Zerbe  2 , Mark Hawken  2 , Yingfeng Wu  2 , Doris Odera  2 , Wafaa M El-Sadr  2 , Kawango Agot  3
Affiliations

Life in the Balance: Young Female Sex Workers in Kenya Weigh the Risks of COVID-19 and HIV

Joanne E Mantell et al. AIDS Behav. 2021 May.

Abstract
in English, Spanish

The COVID-19 pandemic has had serious health, economic and psychosocial consequences. Marginalized populations including female sex workers face the stark choice of risking exposure to SARS-CoV-2 as they engage with clients or prioritizing their health at the cost of losing a primary source of income. As part of an ongoing open-label, randomized controlled trial providing daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis and adherence support, we interviewed 193 of 200 enrolled young female sex workers (18-24 years) in Kisumu, Kenya, about COVID-19 awareness and precautions, access to health services, and sex work during Kenya's pandemic-related lockdown. Nearly all participants were aware of COVID-19 and reported taking protective measures, but only half reported concerns about acquiring SARS-CoV-2. Night curfews and bar closures adversely affected participants' sex work business, reducing the number of clients and payment amounts from clients. Nearly 15% experienced violence from a client or regular, non-paying sex partner during the lockdown period. Participants' access to healthcare services was not disrupted.

La pandemia de COVID-19 puede tener graves consecuencias sanitarias, económicas y psicosociales. Poblaciones marginadas como las mujeres trabajadoras sexuales se enfrentan a la dura elección de arriesgarse a exponerse al SARS-CoV-2 mientras interactúan con los clientes o priorizar su salud a riesgo de perder su principal fuente de ingresos. Como parte de un ensayo controlado aleatorio abierto en curso que proporcionaba profilaxis pre-exposición (PrEP) oral diaria y apoyo para la adherencia, entrevistamos a 193 de 200 las mujeres trabajadoras sexuales jóvenes (de 18 a 24 años) en Kisumu, Kenia, sobre su conocimiento y precauciones frente al COVID-19, acceso a servicios de salud, y trabajo sexual durante el confinamiento por la pandemia en Kenia. Casi todas las participantes conocían el COVID-19 y reportaron que tomaron medidas de protección, pero sólo la mitad dijeron estar preocupadas por infectarse con el SARS-CoV-2. Los toques de queda nocturnos y los cierres de bares afectaron negativamente al negocio del trabajo sexual, reduciendo el número de clientes y la cantidad que recibieron de los clientes. Casi el 15% experimentó violencia por parte de un cliente o por una pareja sexual habitual que no paga durante el periodo de confinamiento. El acceso de las participantes a los servicios de salud no se vio interrumpido.

Keywords: COVID-19; Female sex workers; Kenya; Pre-exposure prophylaxis; SARS-CoV-2.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None of the authors have financial or non-financial conflicts of interest regarding funding or ethics. The research was not conducted with animals.

References

    1. Joint statement by ILO, IFAD and WHO. Impact of COVID-19 on people's livelihoods, their health and our food systems. October 13, 2020. https://www.who.int/news/item/13-10-2020-impact-of-covid-19-on-people's-... Accessed: November 23, 2020.
    1. OECD. OECD Economic Outlook, Interim Report September 2020. doi:https://doi.org/10.1787/34ffc900-en. Accessed: November 23, 2020.
    1. Rohwerder B. Social impacts and responses related to COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries. K4D Emerging Issues Report 35. Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies. 2020.
    1. Laiboni N. Kenya’s philanthropic tradition tackles the COVID-19 challenge. Chatham House. https://www.chathamhouse.org/expert/comment/kenya-s-philanthropic-tradit.... Accessed: November 23, 2020.
    1. Samandari T. Responding to Kenya’s COVID-19 pandemic whilst preserving progress against HIV. HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, Grand Rounds, November 19, 2020. https://www.hivcenternyc.org/hiv-center-rounds. Accessed: December 8, 2020.