Helping People in the Sex Trade during COVID-19: The Perspectives of Israeli Aid Organizations and People in the Sex Trade

Einat Peled, PhD, MSW; Guy Shilo, PhD, MSW; Yeela Lahav Raz, PhD; Nur Shimei, PhD & Ayelet Prior, MSW | September 23 | 10:15-11:15 AM

Topic: Research, International | Knowledge Level: Intermediate

The worldwide collateral effects of COVID-19 are unequally and disproportionately affecting vulnerable and marginalized populations, among them people in the sex trade. Aid organizations are forced to quickly adapt to this new pandemic reality. Thus, the crisis creates new challenges and exacerbates existing hardships for both the people in the sex trade and aid organizations. Accordingly, the main research question was: "What are the experiences and challenges faced by Israeli people in the sex trade and the aid organizations aiming to help them during the COVID-19 pandemic?" Findings are based on a thematic analysis of naturalistic qualitative interviews conducted during May to December 2020, with representatives of 23 Israeli aid organizations and 20 people with sex trade experience. The interviews with aid organizations' workers revealed an increase in referrals and material and emotional needs among their clients. Focusing on provision of materiel needs while neglecting psychotherapeutic, medical, or advocacy interventions has inevitably influenced aid-work in three central areas: therapeutic relationships, self-perception and self-worth of aid workers, and in revealing organizational strengths. Interviewees in the sex trade described how and to what extent working in sex helped them to cope with COVID-19 related needs, and the obstacles and facilitating factors met when trying to secure aid. Both groups related to the role of online and distance therapeutic interventions during the crisis. The implications focus on policy and direct service recommendations directed at the alleviation of obstacles to providing people in the sex trade with the required assistance in times of crisis.

Presentation Objectives:

· Provide an overview of the study, including main questions, methodology, and findings

· Describe research implications for policy and practice

About the Presenters

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Einat Peled, PhD, MSW

Einat Peled is an Associate Professor at the Bob Shapell School of Social Work at Tel Aviv University. Her research aims to unpack the impact of social gendered constructions for both social workers and their clients, in the areas of sex trade, violence against women, and mothering and fathering.

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Guy Shilo, PhD, MSW

Dr. Guy Shilo is a Senior Lecturer at the Bob Shapell School of Social Work at Tel-Aviv University. His research focuses on societal stressors and their impact on mental and physical health, as well as policy practice, among sexual and gender minorities, including LGBTs, people in prostitution, and sex-workers.

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Yeela Lahav Raz, PhD

Dr. Yeela Lahav-Raz is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. She is an anthropologist, specializing in gender and sexuality, sex-work studies, digital anthropology, and the intersections of gender and sexual politics, technological developments, and social deviance.

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Nur Shimei, PhD

Nur Shimei is a postdoctoral fellow at the school of social work at Tel Aviv University. She specializes in participatory critical research methods and currently is a part of a research team that studies the immediate and long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on sex worker aid organizations in Israel.

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Ayelet Prior, MSW

Ayelet Prior is a doctoral student at the Bob Shapell School of Social Work at Tel Aviv University. Her research explores various aspects of the sex industry and the phenomenon of paying for sex. She focuses on social constructions of gendered identities, sexuality, and deviancy.

2021Anna SchrammSeptember 23, 2021Einat Peled; Guy Shilo; Yeela Lahav Raz; Nur Shimei & Ayelet Prior23:10:15