bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Reuters

Hungry, scared and tired, scores of sex workers in Mexico City have been forced to live on the streets as fear of contracting the coronavirus keeps clients away and the government closed the hotels where many of them lived and worked.
Now they sleep under makeshift tents and on pavements, relying on social workers and handouts for what little they have been able to eat, and on each other to fend off attackers and criminals.
“They literally put us out on the streets. We’ve been on the street for a week; before we lived in the hotels,” said Marina Rojano, who has been a sex worker for 24 years.
Another woman, Jazmin Carrillo, said she was jolted awake on the pavement earlier this week when two men tried to forcibly remove her pants.
“I defended myself as best I could, I screamed for the others to help,” said Carrillo.


The government estimates there are around 7,000 prostitutes in Mexico City.
In an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus, which has infected 3,181 people and killed 174 in Mexico so far, city authorities deemed hotels non-essential and ordered them shut.
“We spoke to the hotels about not removing the sex workers living there … but they shouldn’t be working because we’re in the middle of an international health crisis,” a spokesman for the Mexico City government said.
Lockdown fuels sex toy sales boom in Denmark
But hotels in the working-class Tabacalera neighbourhood had signs saying “no service due to official orders,” and removed sex workers, forcing them to set up tarps and line the pavements, according to dozens of interviews with prostitutes.
The city government said it was setting up shelters for them and is handing out “Covid-19 emergency support” cards with 1,000 pesos (US$42) for food and medicine.
“Nobody can live off 1,000 pesos,” said Rojano.
Still, sex workers said any help was welcome and on Wednesday hundreds lined up for a card.
Some have decided to stop working, but for others, hunger and the need to support a family mean that is not an option even if they lack the means to protect themselves from the coronavirus.
“If they don’t even have enough money to eat, how are they going to pay for a face mask, antibacterial gel, gloves? They don’t even have money for coffee, or food,” said Kenya Cuevas, who runs Casa de las Muñecas, a shelter for transsexual sex workers.


Hong Kong’s Peninsula Hotels sees ‘bleisure’ boom after pandemic curbs, CEO says

US could require US$15,000 bonds for some tourist, business visas

China’s Shenzhen, Guangzhou airports hit record highs, surpass pre-Covid passenger levels

Landmark US Chinatown survived Covid, anti-Asian violence – but tariffs pose new threat

Coronavirus pandemic

Coronavirus: Mexico’s sex workers sleep rough as hotels close, clients stay away over infection fears

Sex workers line up to collect a bank card to help with the closure of hotels in Mexico City. Photo: EPA-EFE

News

World

Americas

Coronavirus

Economic Impact


In an effort to contain the spread of the disease, authorities deemed hotels non-essential and ordered them shut
Hungry sex workers sleep on pavements, relying on food handouts and face threats from criminals



In an effort to contain the spread of the disease, authorities deemed hotels non-essential and ordered them shut.
