If this is your first time reading the Report on Sex read our 1-minute primer on we think the sex industry is set for growth.
Top Stories
Some Sex Workers Get Back To It, While Others Face Mortal Threat
In Switzerland, where prostitution is legal, sex workers have been authorized to head back to work as of June 6th. The return to work is welcomed by the estimated 20,000 sex workers in the country who have been effectively out of a job since the corona virus lock downs begun. There is some head scratching in Switzerland as sports and activities which involve “close and constant contact” remain prohibited.
The Swiss Ministry of Health has deeming the risk low enough for a return to work is encouraging to sex workers around the world. In Australia, where sex work is regulated, Eros Association, a group which represents brothels, escort agencies and strip clubs, is advocating for back to work approval. The group sent a letter to their Minister of Health requesting their businesses be able to re-open at same rate as others, they contends they’re not being considered because of “moral judgments.” The letter included a series measures to ensure the safe re-opening of these business, including pre-screening of clients’ health, banning kissing and group sex, requiring masks in some situations and providing hand sanitizer and other hygiene products.
A similar letter has been issued by the Federal Association of Sex Services (BSD), a group representing sex workers in Germany, asking for the corona virus restrictions to be lifted in concert with preventative measures coming into place. The BSD’s letter carries added urgency after a group of 16 German lawmakers came out to say sex work should be made illegal in their country calling it a “super spreader” activity.
The viruses impact on sex workers is particularly haunting in Kenya, where there has been a serious increase in violence against the community by clients as well as law enforcement, who put the blame on them for spreading the virus. The risk is heightened as comparatively safer brothels have been forced to close giving way to sex workers seeing clients in their homes or other unsafe locations. Per the report, this is a major issue in other countries in the region including Uganda, Senegal and Botswana.
Love in Lock Down Fuels Industry Growth
Lock down has led to an increase in audio porn intake according to creators. Dipsea, an audio porn app, says they’ve seen a 84% increase in subscriber volume since the beginning of lock down, while Devlin Wylde an audio porn writer and performer reports a 6000% increase in site visits and a 300% increase in paid subscribers. It’s been widely reported that porn consumption as a whole as well as the sale of sex toys have spiked through quarantine, so it follows that audio porn takes the same trend. The creators believe the popularity of audio porn is that it provides for escapism when you’re trapped at home, citing the popularity of stories set at the distant destinations like the beach or a castle, or even the subway platform.
Without larger data sets it’s challenging to say if audio porn is taking off as a whole or just in relation to the overall surges related to lock down. The same is true of the natural porn movement, nonetheless Make Love Not Porn’s Cindy Gallop is thrilled with the growth she’s seen on her platform over the past few months.
The growth of the sex toy industry through lock down has been well documented, but now the New York Times is out with a piece detailing the surge in purchases from online retailers and the brick and mortar shops who were left behind.
What Else We’re Watching:
These Sex Workers Built A Hand Sanitizer Factory: The story of how two sex workers and a vape juice entrepreneur quickly started manufacturing hand sanitizer in Seattle.
Who Gets to Call Themselves a Sex Worker?: Covered extensively in the last edition of this newsletter, Inside Hook takes another look at the question.
Porn star Nacho Vidal held in Spain after man dies in toad-venom ritual: This is exactly what it sounds like.