United KingdomCOVID-19: Returning to work as an escort
Sex workers have been one of the hardest hit groups throughout the coronavirus pandemic. While many other groups have been protected through furlough schemes, receiving 80% of their usual full time pay through the government, sex workers don’t tend to be employed. While self employed grants have been available for sex workers who have filed self-employed tax returns over the past three years, not every escort has been in the industry for that long, or may not have built up a solid client base until more recently, resulting in a below par grant that hasn’t proven sufficient to pay the bills. It’s not all too surprising that many are struggling financially having been unable to work throughout the lockdown period. Over the past five months, many sex workers have found themselves in the extremely difficult position of trying to get by without sufficient income - potentially having to go without and racking up increasing amounts of debt - or continuing to work at a significant risk to both themselves and others. Fortunately, lockdown measures are slowly being lifted and we’re looking closer to a return to normality than ever. But how can you go about returning to work as a UK escort?
Government Guidelines
Government guidelines are constantly changing for almost every profession. It’s hard to know what’s permitted and what’s not. This is particularly true when it comes to sex work. Sex workers are generally ignored by the government - as if sex work is a phenomenon that doesn’t exist. Sure, sex work may operate outside of the realms of the usual nine to five office workplace. But it is an industry with significant demand that is catered to by around 78,000 UK citizens. Unfortunately, as of yet, there are no official government guidelines surrounding a return to sex work in particular. Guidelines that could prove relevant to sex work, however, include maintaining a two metre distance between you and anyone you do not live with. This, of course, can pose some significant problems to a return to work in this field.
How to Operate Right Now
Right now, the best and safest approach for sex workers would be to offer online services. Sure, a significant aspect of many sex workers’ services includes intimate services revolving around in-person sexual encounters. But this isn’t where sex work ends. Thanks to the rise of technology, increasing amounts of sex work can be carried out without even having to meet up with clients. Countless clients are stuck to the confines of their own home and frustrated. As long as they have access to a phone, smartphone or other device - like a tablet, laptop or computer - you can still help to meet their needs and generate an income for yourself! This type of virtual work could include phone calls, video calls, sending pictures, sending videos and more. There are also niches that you can cater to, such as financial domination, which can easily be catered to without face to face contact.
Returning to Work Once Measures are Lifted
Of course, as measures are lifted and you can return to work on a face to face basis, you’re still going to want to be careful. Until there is a vaccine that completely counteracts or eliminates coronavirus, there is always going to be a chance of catching the virus from a client and passing it onto other clients. There are, however, measures that you can take to minimise your chances of experiencing any of this. Here are a few to take into consideration.
- Be Aware of coronavirus symptoms. First and foremost, you need to be fully aware of coronavirus symptoms. This will help you to identify whether you think a client may be unwell, allowing you to leave the situation, and will also help you to identify early signs of the condition in yourself if you feel you may have coronavirus. Identifying the condition as early as possible will help you to protect yourself, your clients and anyone else you may be spending time with. The four most common symptoms associated with coronavirus include:
- A persistent dry cough
- A fever or high temperature
- Shortness of breath
- A loss of smell or taste
However, it’s important to remember that these aren’t the only symptoms. Coronavirus patients have also commonly reported experiences of nausea, sickness, diarrhoea and more.
Have a test if you develop symptoms
If you do develop symptoms of coronavirus, it’s absolutely essential that you book in for a test as soon as possible. There are countless testing facilities located around the country that will be able to provide you with next day results. This can help to determine whether you have the virus or not, putting your mind at ease if you don’t and allowing you to take necessary further steps if you do.
Quarantine if you do develop coronavirus
If you test positive, you must follow government advice in regards to quarantine and self isolation. This may be inconvenient, as you may not be able to earn money during this period of often 10 - 14 days. But you will be entitled to statutory sick pay and need to stay home to recover yourself and protect others.
When it comes down to it, escorts and sex workers are used to operating in a field and environment that carries substantial risks. The threat of coronavirus is just another factor on a list that you will quickly come to manage effectively in your own way. At the end of the day, anyone who is currently working, socialising or spending time outside of their own four walls are putting themselves at risk too! You just need to do what you can to minimise potential of catching the virus and take required measures to reduce its spread if you do happen to experience it.
Take protective measures when travelling to clients
If you’re going to be travelling to clients and will be using public transport, you need to take protective measures along the way. Public transport is a potential hotbed for coronavirus. Make sure to wear a mask at all times within stations and while you are on public transport services. Where possible, avoid touching anything that you don’t need to. This could include handrails on the transport, as well as handrails on elevators or escalators when getting to the means of transport. Where possible, try to maintain a two metre distance between you and any strangers you do not live with on the public transport. You should also carry hand sanitiser to clean your hands regularly throughout the process. If possible, avoid travel at peak times. This will minimise the number of people you come into contact with.
Opt for local clients
Opting for more local clients rather than long-distance clients could also be helpful. The less you have to travel to see your client, the less people and potentially unclean surfaces you will have to come into contact with along the way and the lower your risk of catching the virus.
Place some ground rules with your clients in advance
It’s good to lay out ground rules with your clients before you visit them or they visit you. This will help to create the safest possible environment and will also ensure that you’re comfortable with proceedings at all times. Some rules that many escorts are commonly putting into place at the moment include:
- Insistence on fresh bedding, whether you are visiting the client, they are visiting you, or you’re using a hotel room
- No kissing, spitting or other interactions that could spread the virus
- Insistence on both parties wearing a mask (this could easily be incorporated into role play to make the mask feel more natural)
- Opting for positions that avoid face to face contact
- Washing hands before and after proceedings
Cleaning following sex
It’s always important to clean properly following sex. But now, this aspect of proceedings takes on more importance than ever. You really need to make sure that you are thorough with your cleaning of yourself and your surroundings. Make sure to wash with warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds. A post-sex shower will easily take care of this. Next, you need to change the sheets, washing the used sheets on a warm cycle with plenty of detergent. Finally, make sure to wipe down any surfaces that you and your client may have touched throughout. This will help to ensure that you are as safe as possible and that the space is as clean and safe as possible for any further clients.
This may seem like a lot information to take in, and things are relatively unclear as long as the government refuse to acknowledge the presence of escorts and sex workers. But hopefully, some of the above information will help you to make the best decisions possible when it comes to returning to work following this pandemic!