By Anoushka Pinto

The nation-wide lockdowns and stringent social distancing measures have upended many lives and devastated economies worldwide. The poorer countries have taken a massive hit, and with people being laid off of their jobs, surviving during the pandemic has become a struggle. In a country like India for example, daily wage workers have been left without a safety net with no wages to sustain them. About half a million people are estimated to have left cities to walk home, prompting what is the country's "largest mass migration since independence", according to Oxfam India's chief executive, Amitabh Behar.

But a marginalized section of India's society whose jobs have been impeded due to the lockdown are among those suffering the most. India imposed its lockdown measure on March 24 until April 13 and then extended it further to May 3. Sex workers from all across the nation have lost their incomes overnight and are also victims of deprivation.

The Indian government introduced a $22.5B COVID 19-relief package for the poor. However, it conveniently excluded the sex workers. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that $6.66 ( ₹500) would be deposited to the bank accounts of 200M people every month. But that didn't include those working or trafficked into the sex industry, as many of these people lack government-approved documentation to access public funds and relief schemes. Read more via MEAWW