Coronavirus slashes sex trade in Ghana

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By ANA reporter Time of article published4h ago

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PRETORIA – Ghanaian sex workers have reported a slump in business in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, GhanaWeb reported.

It quoted the women as lamenting how regular customers were no longer seeking their services for fear of contracting the virus now affecting more than 700,000 people around the world.

Ghana has so far recorded 152 cases of Covid-19 while five people have died.

A sex worker speaking on local radio station Kasapa FM said business was dwindling despite sanitisers and wipes being made available to punters.

“Business is not booming as it used to be, our customers are no more patronizing our services because of the outbreak of coronavirusm,” she said.

“We’ve almost run out of business. But the president said only services at churches and mosques should be suspended, I didn’t hear him saying prostitutes should stop work … The men should patronise us so that we can get some money to fend for ourselves and family.”

President Nana Akufo-Addo last Friday announced a partial lockdown in Accra, Kumasi, Tema and Kasoa in a bid to contain the spread of the disease.

Essential service providers and other categories of professionals are however allowed to carry out their duties.

In South Africa, where confirmed cases of Covid-19 have soared to 1,326, not-for-profit news agency GroundUp reported that rights group Sonke Gender Justice had called for sex workers to benefit from Unemployment and Insurance Fund (UIF) relief being made available during a 21-day lockdown ending on April 16.

While workers from other sectors can apply for UIF relief due to loss of income, sex work is not legally recognised by the South African government.

GroundUp cited a statement from Sonke Gender Justice and the National Movement of Sex Workers which said the sector was being left out of general conversations about support for workers during the lockdown and the pandemic.

“We call on the president to make urgent provision to the ‘Temporary Employee Relief Scheme’ to include sex workers because sex work is work and they too need help as their livelihood has been disrupted,” the statement said.

African News Agency