The coronavirus pandemic has closed down Poland’s strip clubs and massage parlours, leaving many sex workers struggling to make ends meet but also inspiring solidarity via an online fundraising campaign.
Similar ventures have also appeared elsewhere in the West, notably launched by the Strass union in France and Canadian organisations Maggie in Toronto and PACE in Vancouver.
“Over a couple of weeks, we’ve raised more than 16,000 zloty (3,500 euros, $3,800). It’s incredible,” one of the organisers of the Polish fundraiser, a purple-haired 22-year-old who goes by her sex worker name of Medroxy, told AFP.