By: Bessie Liu

COVID-19 has left many sex workers jobless, homeless and helpless. Excluded from financial aid schemes by the government, many sex workers have turned to mutual aid funds for survival. 

On August 1st, 2020 people from around New York City gathered at Times Square for a Black Sex Workers liberation march and vigil.

It was here, where I first met “Tim”. Tim’s pronouns are they/them/theirs. Tim is an actor, fitness coach, and sex worker. They share their story of how they began to engage in sex work and how the pandemic has changed the landscape of the sex work industry.

Bessie is a multimedia journalist who is originally from Melbourne, Australia. She worked as a management consultant for a little over two years before changing careers to journalism. She has reported on stories related to social justice, businesses, and the environment.