Sex Work in Veracruz during the COVID Era

Abstract

I use an analysis of the press and specialized bibliography to show the precarious labor situation of sex services in the state of Veracruz during the COVID era. Through a brief historical overview of the opposing positions in the management of prostitution—regulationism/abolitionism—in force since the 19th century, I demonstrate the importance of legal recognition of the labor rights of sex workers who enter the profession “voluntarily.” I note how the abolitionist sector has used the press and international public opinion to create a “sexual panic” that has successfully equated all prostitution with trafficking and exploitation. This position has done little to improve the actual conditions of those engaged in the “oldest profession in the world.”