Fighting Out the COVID-19 Pandemic: Unravelling the Vulnerabilities of Sex Workers in Bangladesh

Abstract

This study aims to understand and explore how the female floating sex workers in Bangladesh have experienced the vulnerability of COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdown and what sort of coping strategies they have adopted to fight the crisis. By employing the qualitative interpretative phenomenological approach (IPA), this study has collected data from both primary (17 sex workers were interviewed twice) and secondary sources. For data analysis, the authors followed inductive thematic analysis using the Graneheim approach and NVivo-12 software. The findings of the study suggest that floating sex workers have faced some significant challenges during the pandemic, which include financial crisis, food insecurity, difficulty in availing healthcare facilities leading to mental challenges, harassment cases and exclusion from emergency assistance from various sectors. The study also revealed some coping strategies, for instance, taking loans, borrowing food, selling properties and belongings and concealing their own identity, which were taken by sex workers for fighting out the emerging situations. Finally, the article has come up with some pragmatic policy recommendations that are expected to guide the concerned policymakers and related agencies in devising COVID-19 protection and welfare policies for the vulnerable sex worker community.