Sexual and reproductive health of female sex workers in the post-COVID-19 era in Argentina

The COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to control it have threatened livelihoods, introduced new workplace risks and made unstable work relationships even more precarious, especially for women. Female sex workers have been severely impacted by the pandemic and are one of the most marginalized and criminalized populations in Argentina. This project will analyze their sexual and reproductive health and the coverage of their income protection policies. It will involve the two main female sex workers’ national organizations and the local government of the City of Buenos Aires. The intention is to design and assess the feasibility of a comprehensive sexual and reproductive health prevention and care package; estimate the fiscal cost to close the existing income protection policy gaps; and translate the results and reach multisector policymakers at the local and national levels to improve prevention and healthcare and income protection policy coverage in the post-COVID era and for future health emergencies in Argentina.

This project is funded under Women’s health and economic empowerment for a COVID-19 Recovery that is Inclusive, Sustainable and Equitable (Women RISE), an initiative of IDRC, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Its aim is to support global action-oriented, gender-transformative research by teams of researchers from low- and middle-income countries and Canada.