Receipt of COVID-19 emergency funds and engagement in sex work during COVID-19 among people who use drugs: evidence from Vancouver, Canada
Erica McAdam, Kanna Hayashi, Zishan Cui, Haleigh Anderson, Scarlett Nelson, M.-J. Milloy, Kora DeBeck

TL;DR
This study explores how receiving emergency funds during the early pandemic affected sex work among drug users in Vancouver, finding that those who received support were less likely to engage in sex work.
Contribution
The study provides new insights into the relationship between emergency financial support and sex work engagement among people who use drugs during the early pandemic.
Findings
5.4% of participants engaged in sex work in the last month, with those receiving income support less likely to do so.
Among those who reported changes, 55.1% said they engaged in sex work less frequently since the pandemic began.
Receipt of recent financial support was negatively associated with recent sex work engagement.
Abstract
During the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health orders disrupted income generation in numerous sectors and many governments provided emergency financial support. Access to government support and changes in engagement in sex work during the early period of the pandemic among people who use drugs (PWUD) are not well described. In the present study, we investigate the prevalence and correlates of engaging in sex work during the COVID-19 pandemic, among PWUD in Vancouver, Canada. Data derived from three harmonized cohorts of PWUD. Using multivariable logistic regression, we characterized factors associated with engaging in sex work in the last month between July 17 and November 30, 2020. Reports of changes in frequency of engagement in sex work since the pandemic were also collected. Of the 864 individuals included in this analysis, 55 (6.4%) reported sex work engagement…
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Taxonomy
TopicsSex work and related issues · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · Homelessness and Social Issues
