The economic fallout from COVID-19 is prompting a “dramatic increase” in the number of people, particularly women seeking careers in sex work, raising questions about the scientific basis for the ongoing night-time curfew.
President of the Adult Industry Association (AIA) Charles Charlie Spice Lewis revealed that with hundreds feeling the pinch of unemployment, they are approaching him to discuss alternative options to make ends meet and are finding more creative ways to do so.
“The notion that you are not going to get COVID at certain times of the day and that you can get it other times, I think that doesn’t have much basis, but what is happening particularly in my industry is that we are very creative. If a sex worker on Bush Hill cannot operate on the street after a certain time, she will make an arrangement with her clients to do business other than on the street, so activity will still go on,” Lewis told Barbados TODAY.
“I’ve found from the previous curfew that sex workers in Barbados are now plying their trade much earlier in the day to compensate for the fact that they have to be off of the street or out of operation at 11 p.m. or 12 a.m. They are now starting at 3 o’clock in the afternoon or 11 o’clock in the daytime. So there is a lot more activity during the daytime hours,” the industry expert added.
In fact, Lewis argued that the ineffective curfews and lockdowns are doing more harm to players within the traditional economy while possibly failing to contain the actual spread of COVID-19.
“When you’ve got about 60 per cent of the Barbadian workforce working in the tourism sector and tourism is down, you’ve got a whole lot of people unemployed and there are a whole lot of people wondering how they are going to feed their families, and I’ve seen in the last month many persons turning to the sex industry either on a full-time or part-time basis,” he added.
Barbados is currently in the early stages of a two-week 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew implemented by public health officials in the midst of a COVID-19 spike on the island. Government’s decision-making is however, being called into question in the apparent absence of a concrete plan for the re-opening of the economy.
Night-time establishments are particularly under strain with some like the Cove Nightclub in St Lawrence Gap announcing their temporary closure and others on the West Coast like the Red Door Lounge closing indefinitely.
“You might as well spend more time policing and educating them how to protect themselves rather than enforcing measures which will also affect their personal economies and by extension the economy of the country,” Lewis declared.
In fact, he believes the spread of COVID-19 through sexual contact between strangers is more rampant outside of the industry, adding that he has suggested that sex workers “ply their trade” with a mask.
“In mainstream society, there is so much rampant sex in Barbados between strangers, involving people who are not in the sex industry, so whatever measures you are putting in place to combat the impact of that, we can also use for the sex industry. But again, it is about education and it’s about enforcing protocols,” said Lewis.
“I suggest that sex workers ply their trade with a mask on. That is the advice given to everyone in society, not just sex workers. If you’re going to have any type of interaction, wear a mask and that is the same advice given to sex workers.”
(kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb)
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