One of the industries deeply affected around the world by the COVID-19 pandemic is the sex work industry.
Escorts, strippers and other sex workers have been forced to adapt to a new no-touching world, using other means including online services.
An anonymous UK escort revealed to Metro the extent of the impact, saying he saw his last client "at the end of February, right before the pandemic brought my work to a halt".
"I'm offering Zoom and FaceTime sessions instead, but so far havent booked anyone in, though I'm in touch with prospective clients and hope to be able to meet up with them soon," he revealed.
"I actually had one request to 'sneak out' – but I kindly declined. I am so grateful for everything that [public healthcare] workers are doing, and leaving my house to meet a client doesn’t feel right."
He said he's signed up for Universal Credit and hopes to get furlough [UK wage subsidy scheme] money through in June.
"I pay my taxes like any other business and escorting is legal."
The man said he misses his clients and often gets told his job "is a form of therapy".
"That is my favourite part of escorting, being able to help someone. And, of course, the privilege of women wanting to pay me for my time – that they deem me worthy of that makes me feel incredibly lucky, and humbled," he said.
"I do worry about how coronavirus will impact the escorting industry after lockdown, but I'm also not overly concerned because I provide a valuable service. "What I expect will happen is that we'll see a gradual increase in people wanting to meet up, rather than a big boom."
It's a similar case in Aotearoa for Kiwi sex workers. Lisa Lewis revealed to MagicTalk host Ryan Bridge last month that she's had to innovate with a phone sex service and new adult website. A Kiwi dominatrix also told Newshub that many of her clients aren't taking lockdown "seriously", and have been requesting her services during lockdown.
