Abstract

A plethora of studies examining the plight of sex-workers have been undertaken in the past. Most of the academic discourses on the subject of sex-work have been from different quarters advocating for legalization of sex-work, catering to the rights of the children of sex-workers, their health concerns and standard of living. The present research explores the plight of the sex-workers in the post COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 pandemic generated, broadly two categories of discourses within the discipline of humanities and social sciences, one on examining the vulnerabilities of certain sections of population, like the migrant workers, small and mid-level businesspersons, students, medical personnel et.al. and two on emergence of newer kinds of phenomenon like increase in cases of domestic violence, rising mental health concerns, debilitating medical infrastructure, challenges in the field of education et.al. However, not much is known about the plight of sex-workers in India during and in the aftermath of the pandemic. This paper examines their concerns not just in the light of the COVID induced lockdown which had abruptly halted all source of livelihood for them, but also attempts towards developing strategies to address the peculiar nature of challenges that are bound to surround sex-work in the aftermath of the Pandemic.

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