The housing needs of women who sell or exchange sex during coronavirus

Here at CLiCK, we provide emotional and practical support to women who sell or exchange sex or images across Scotland. CLiCK is made up of a partnership of organisations and we provide support via anonymous live chat, helpline, and one-to-one support.

During Covid-19, we have continued to offer support, as well as creating CLiCK Magazine – an online platform which hopes to amplify the needs and experiences of women who sell or exchange sex during the pandemic. CLiCK Magazine aims to take the voices of women to decision makers in order to ensure women are part of shaping Scotland’s support and policy landscape as the country begins the process of learning to live with coronavirus. Over the past four months, we have heard from women on several issues including money, mental wellbeing, and online safety.

The Magazine has various elements – our podcast, CLiCK Cast , our mental wellbeing and arts project Together Alone, an anonymous survey platform RISE and Your Voice  where women can work one-to-one with the CLiCK Development Worker. We are currently calling out to women to share their needs, experiences, and concerns around housing to inform the next episode of CLiCK Cast.

While the pandemic has had a massive impact on so many of us, it has had a disproportionate impact on some communities in particular. Women who sell or exchange sex have been seriously financially impacted by the pandemic as their income vanished virtually overnight. This means that many women are now struggling to keep up with rent, mortgage payments, and energy bills. Many women who sell or exchange sex have had no choice but to continue seeing clients face-to-face during the pandemic – putting their own health at risk – to keep a roof over their heads and heat their homes.

Women are concerned about approaching services for support and advice around rent arrears due to possible repercussions from landlords if they knew women were involved in the sex industry. Here at CLiCK, we are currently administering part of the Encompass Fund, a discrete pot of funding that has been provided by the Scottish Government directly for women who sell or exchange sex. Some funds require landlord information, but the Encompass Fund has attempted to remove as many of these barriers as possible. However, the Encompass Fund is now receiving applications for significantly high amounts that the fund is not resourced to cover, highlighting how much financial need still exists for women who sell or exchange sex.

This doesn’t just affect women in the rental sector – women who own their own homes and made use of mortgage holidays are now worried about the knock-on effect when this ends.

Women have also raised concerns about their own safety as during lockdown they have felt under scrutiny and surveillance from neighbours who may report clients coming to their homes. With restrictions on home visiting again in place across Scotland, this is once again a concern for women. In addition, with the notice period for evictions related to anti-social behaviour reverting back to one-month, we are concerned about what potential neighbour reports and complaints could mean for the stability of women’s tenancies.

Access to temporary accommodation has been fast-tracked in some local authority areas during the pandemic – with accommodation being arranged within a day in some areas. However, approaches have often not been trauma informed. Services have reported instances of women being housed in mixed-sex temporary accommodation and subsequently experiencing exploitation. We have also heard from services that women have been removed from temporary accommodation during lockdown due to signs of drug use and challenging behaviour.

While this shines some light on the housing needs of women who sell or exchange sex, these will be discussed in more detail on our housing episode of CLiCK Cast (28 October). You can listen to that along with our previous episodes focusing on Money, Mental Wellbeing and Online Safety on the CLiCK Magazine website here. We encourage any women with experience of selling or exchanging sex to make their voice heard on this issue by using the contact form on the CLiCK Magazine website or by filling in our anonymous housing survey. If you have any questions about any aspects of CLiCK or if you would like to discuss the housing needs of women who sell or exchange sex for the next episode of CLiCK Cast, then please get in touch, we would love to hear from you.