Since the new coronavirus first hit the shores of the Dominican Republic in March, Luna Veras, a transgender sex worker, has struggled to put bread on the table, between the covid-19’s concern and the night-time curfew, hers fell by 80%.
“I’m from sex work. At this time in the Covid-19 pandemic, trans sex personnel are in crisis.The economy has stopped,” said Veras, who lives in a poor community in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Caribbean country.prostitution is legal as long as it is voluntary.
The night-time curfew imposed by the Dominican government as they struggle to curb the spread of the disease has had a dramatic effect on the lives of sex workers.
So far, there have been 97,000 cases shown of coronavirus and 1,801 similar deaths in this country of only 11 million people, according to government figures.
Veras, 47, is HIV-positive and “panicked” at the concept of contracting coronavirus, given the drastic effect it could have on his health.
However, she continued to work, dressed in makeup every day as she did before the pandemic, with one difference: she now wears a protective mask on her nose and mouth, which is temporarily dyed through her fuchsia lipstick.
The curfew has made drastic changes. Not only have the paintings dropped dramatically, but now he only makes appointments over the phone and in person.
Veras is far from the 10,000 pesos (about $170) he earned each month before the pandemic, to survive now cleans houses.
– ‘shame’ helps keep consumers away –
Yohana Espinoza, some other transgender prostitute, is also HIV-positive.It is for her to locate a normal and hierarchical task because she “has not been declared at birth” and has no birth certificate or identity documents.
She can’t read or write. In their tiny room, under a wavy veneer roof, two enthusiasts circulate the hot air of a Dominican summer and there are few customers.
Henely Flores, 20, acknowledges that the curfew of the night, effective at 7 p.m.at five o’clock in the morning in Santo Domingo – it has had a major impact.
“One day I repositioned myself and got to work.But I found out that consumers weren’t stopping because it was still sunny and embarrassed,” he said.Things were going so badly that she had to ask a friend to receive her because she had no position to live.
As their income plummeted, many sex workers have become dependent on charities and foreigners.
“It is a delicate situation; some others survive a little,” said Christian Kingsley, who runs TRANSSA, which provides assistance to other transgender people.”We can’t, but we’ve tried to help them with food and protective devices opposed to Covid-19: one less thing they have to spend money for.”
So far, he says, his organization has managed to get another six hundred people to enroll in a government program called “Stay at Home,” which has provided monthly grants of 5,000 pesos to others who buy food since the start of the campaign.Pandemic.