Women engaged in prostitution and COVID-19: why are they excluded from socially vulnerable groups?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/s1518-8787.2022056004229Keywords:
Women, Sex Workers, COVID-19, epidemiology, Risk Factors, Gender Inequality, Race FactorsAbstract
This study analyzed the exposure of women engaged in prostitution in downtown São Paulo to COVID-19. This cross-sectional study had a convenience sample selected in May 2021. We interviewed 219, mostly black, middle-aged, poor women with comorbidities. Among them, 61 had shown COVID-19 symptoms, 23, tested positive for the disease, seven underwent hospitalization, and four reported post-COVID-19 complications. Only 26 (30.2%) had been vaccinated. In addition to gender, race, and class inequalities, these women suffer both from a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 due to their working conditions and from the subsequent worsening of that disease due to age and lack of vaccination.
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Copyright (c) 2022 Michelle Ishida Chiang, Maitê Leite Basile, Ana Beatriz Pereira de Souza, Isabella Dastler Moccagatta, Julia Rabello Guerra Vieira, Thaís Rocha Lourenço, Mariana Langanke Gonçalves, Helena Afférri Fernandes Pinto, Rosane Lowenthal, Michele Lacerda Pereira Ferrer, Giselle Burlamaqui Klautau
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