Growing Strong
‘Health disparity’ is a concept created by governments and social institutions, and systematically enforced to reproduce the hegemonic conditions under which they thrive. It is an ethical judgement of which resources can be reasonably withheld from certain communities; namely, a judgement of which people’s disadvantage is socially acceptable. For sex workers, globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified existing disparities, and exposed the underlying foundations of structural violence which predispose these workers to ill health through restricted access to crucial healthcare and neglect in the formation of government policy. According to the World Health Organisation, sex workers are among those most susceptible to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), due to the nature of their profession and the lack of accessible HIV prevention services. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified these foundations of inequality, as HIV testing facilities were scaled down in 44 countries to reduce community transmissions. These closures are detrimental to the health of many sex workers in the Global South. Susan Gichuna found in her study of sex workers in Kenya that during COVID a six-month disruption in HIV
supplies and treatment in sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to lead to 471,000–673,000 AIDS-related deaths in a year. This neglect constitutes structural violence and reproduces cycles of disadvantage, as vulnerability to HIV has enforced the stigma that sex workers are conduits for disease, further hindering sex workers’ access to healthcare services during COVID. Furthermore, access to contraception is one of the most
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crucial aspects of healthcare for sex workers, and this accessiblity is still limited worldwide, as many countries have defunded and criminalised birth control and abortion services. In a decade of austerity, the reduction of specialist services has led to a crisis in provision of health and support services for sex workers, exemplifying the ways in which disparities are manufactured to enforce hegemony. Planned Parenthood is one of the largest providers of sexual and
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