Barriers to Governmental Income Supports for Sex Workers during COVID-19: Results of a Community-Based Cohort in Metro Vancouver

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into stark focus the economic inequities faced by precarious, criminalized and racialized workers. Sex workers have been historically excluded from structural supports due to criminalization occupational stigma. Given emerging concerns regarding sex workers’ inequitable access income in Canada elsewhere, our objective was identify prevalence correlates of accessing emergency among women Vancouver, Canada. Data were drawn a longstanding community-based open cohort (AESHA) cis trans Metro Vancouver April 2020–April 2021 (n = 208). We used logistic regression model supports. Among 208 participants, 52.9% Indigenous, 6.3% Women Colour (Asian, Southeast Asian, or Black), 40.9% white. Overall, 48.6% reported during pandemic. In adjusted multivariable analysis, non-injection drug use associated with higher odds (aOR: 2.58, 95% CI: 1.31–5.07), whereas Indigenous reduced (aOR 0.55, CI 0.30–1.01). comparison other service workers, low overall, particularly for demonstrating compounding impacts colonization disproportionate Results highlight need that are low-barrier culturally-safe support health, safety dignity.