Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.
Female sex workers FSW have been disproportionately impacted by the Covid crisis. Data show increases of police violence toward key populations KP , likely a consequence of their role in enforcing health government measures. This study aimed to identify factors associated with police violence experienced by FSW during the Covid crisis in Argentina.
EPIC is a multi-country, cross-sectional, community-based research program evaluating the impact of Covid among KP. Participants completed an online survey October —April Police violence was measured as having experienced episodes of violence physical, verbal, psychological or sexual by security forces since the start of the health crisis. Factors associated with police violence were assessed in logistic regression models. Among respondents, median age was 34 [IQR 27—42], Nearly half of FSW FSW in Argentina have experienced an increase in police violence since the beginning of the health crisis.
Belonging to multiple KP FSW, TW, people who use drugs increases the likelihood of experiencing police violence, highlighting the need of an intersectional approach to develop interventions to reduce stigma and violence against FSW. CBOs have provided essential support and services during the crisis to FSWs, and other KPs, who may have avoided traditional healthcare structures due to fear or experiences of discrimination.
Female sex workers FSW have historically lived in a context of high psychosocial and economic vulnerability, associated with stigma and violence [ 1 , 2 ].
