The Covid-19 pandemic has affected people across all walks of life, among them sex workers. In this essay based on their SSRC-funded research, Denton Callander, Étienne Meunier, and Mariah Grant examine how the pandemic has impacted sex workers in the United States, analyzing the role stigma plays in heightening the health, social, and economic threats posed by the pandemic. To ameliorate sex workers’ conditions, the authors argue for decriminalizing sex work and providing long-term support.
Denton Callander
Denton Callander (he/him) is a Canadian/Australian researcher based in New York City who studies sex, sexuality, and sexual health. He is an associate research scientist with the Spatial Epidemiology Lab at Columbia University and a senior research fellow with the Kirby Institute for Immunity and Infection in Society at the University of New South Wales.