Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Coronavirus: Offline sex workers forced to start again online

Coronavirus: Offline sex workers forced to start again online

Most sex workers meet customers in person. For them, the coronavirus spells economic ruin.

"The virus is a disaster for client-facing businesses - and sex work is no different," says Goddess Cleo, a dominatrix from London.

"Most of my income is generated from one-on-one sessions and events. I [normally] only make a bit of money through online avenues."

But like many others, Cleo has switched focus to digital since the lockdown came into effect.

Online dominatrix Eva de Vil says: "There's lots of new girls joining the scene right now - or offline sex workers moving online to help with finances."

And she has seen a growing appetite from her clientele for isolation-themed roleplay "clips" - on-demand videos not filmed live.

"It's not so hard for established cam girls like me to adapt to coronavirus. We're used to working [online] and from home," she adds.


Not so easy

But for many client-facing sex workers, moving online is not a simple solution.

"It's not about flashing ya nipple and earning big bucks", wrote UK sex worker Gracey on Twitter.

"It takes ages to gain an online following and even longer for [them] to buy your content."

Using the online platforms means having to give them a cut of earnings.

And there is a need to invest in equipment, including "tripod, decent lighting, sex toys, et cetera", which can be challenging to acquire during the lockdown.

"The marketing requires so much effort, it is unreal," Gracey says.

"I'm not brave enough to [be] naked online and [receive audience] criticism.

"The emotional labour that goes into camming is unreal - constantly chatting, trying to be yourself [and] pleasant."

Privacy is another concern.

It is much harder to hide one's identity online and video content can be stolen.

In February, for example, London-based OnlyFans saw 1.5TB of content-makers' pre-recorded videos and images leaked.

UK sex worker Lizzy says camming has become even more competitive since the pandemic began.

And data from the world's largest "camming" websites supports this.

Max Bennett, from the Stripchat website, where audiences pay to watch livestreamed sex, says: "Adult performers are moving to livecams, as traditional [markets] have largely shut down."

US-based livestreaming site Chaturbate has reported a 75% rise in the number of sex workers signing up since the outbreak began - an increase faster than the rate at which audience traffic is rising.

"We're seeing traffic changes worldwide, especially in lockdown areas," Max says.

"For those who live alone, we'll see more traffic.

"But in [homes] with roommates or family situations, it may be more complicated."

To drive demand, some online sex workers are taking special measures.

"I've seen quite a lot of girls running discounts," Eva says.

"We're sensitive to [customers'] drop in income - although I don't yet see any evidence of a dip in spending."

Camming websites are also taking action.

StripChat, for example, is handing out hundreds of free tokens to new viewers worldwide, enough for each recipient to pay a sex worker for a 10-minute private session.

"By acting as a central bank, we can increase the money supply and help the new wave of performers survive the crisis," Max says.

"We've also doubled our payouts to our Italian models.

"As a social network of over 60 million people a month, we have a tremendous platform to [help] keep users off the streets."


No choice

But for some sex workers, the costs and challenges of moving online are simply too large.

"There are sex workers still meeting clients in person because they don't have a choice," Lizzy says.

"That anyone has to choose between having enough money to live on and risking their and others' health during a pandemic is ridiculous."

Some support is available to these workers.

For example, Butterfly - an Asian and migrant sex worker support network - has published a Covid-19 guide that recommends sexual positions that minimise face-to-face contact, among other precautions.

But the nature of the industry makes it difficult for workers to tap into government schemes to compensate self-employed workers for lost earnings.

Prostitution itself is not illegal in England, Wales and Scotland - though it is unlawful to pay for sex in Northern Ireland - but the trade is often cash in hand and unrecorded.

In the US, the massive Covid-19 bailout bill explicitly excludes legal sex workers from protection.

According to the English Collective of Prostitutes, many sex workers are single mothers already made poorer by austerity measures - and the coronavirus is now exacerbating their situation.

With these concerns in mind, hundreds of online initiatives have popped up worldwide, such as the Covid-19 hardship fund from Swarm, a UK sex worker-led collective.

It says it has already used donations to support 234 sex workers in need

The long-term solution, however, is for better government support for sex workers, says Goddess Cleo.

"When sex work is treated as actual work and fully decriminalised, sex workers will have access to the same human rights as every other worker," she says.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×