The world's fast-growing mountain of debt


Dion Rabouin Jan 13, 2020 AXIOS

Illustration: Aïda Amer and Sarah Grillo/Axios

The world's total debt surged by some $9 trillion in the first three quarters of 2019, according to data from the Institute of International Finance, bringing the world's total debt load to $253 trillion, or 322% of its GDP — a record high.

Why it matters: In times of economic strength, economists exhort countries to pare back their debt burdens and pay it down to protect against future unrest and downturn.
The U.S. and the overwhelming majority of the world have done just the opposite — 2019 saw the world's debt-to-GDP ratio rise at the fastest rate since 2016.
Conversely, global growth fell to its slowest pace since the 2008–2009 financial crisis, showing diminishing returns for the increasingly large debt pile.

What it means: The two may be linked. Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab, told Axios earlier this year that the weak growth seen by the U.S. and much of the rest of the globe may be directly caused by the ever-growing debt.
"The effect may be a subtle crisis over time," she said.

Be smart: Even Fed chair Jerome Powell, who has been careful to focus his remarks almost exclusively on the strengths of the U.S. economy, was dour in his assessment of current U.S. debt levels.
He said last year that "the federal budget is on an unsustainable path" that could "restrain fiscal policymakers’ willingness or ability to support economic activity during a downturn.”

Between the lines: The U.S. led the way in debt accumulation last year, with government debt-to-GDP rising to an all-time high of 102% of GDP, IIF finds.
Mature markets like the U.S., eurozone and Japan ratcheted up their government debt levels last year, while emerging markets like China, India and Latin America saw the sharpest increase in non-financial corporate debt.
China's debt notably rose to 310% of GDP, despite the nation's drive to delever and clamp down on runaway borrowing. Government debt grew at its fastest annual pace since 2009.

What's next: All signs point to the debt binge continuing. Thanks to low interest rates and loose central bank policy, IIF estimates that total global debt will exceed $257 trillion in the first quarter of 2020.

Go deeper:
U.S. businesses have more debt than American households
The states having the most trouble with credit card debt

RIP
Kiefer Sutherland announces death of his mother Shirley Douglas, who passed away from pneumonia at 86
REST IN POWER 

The actress and activist was a longtime resident of Toronto

She shared Kiefer and his twin sister Rachel with ex-husband Donald Sutherland 

The Designated Survivor star tweeted his mom had been in poor health for some time and her death was not related to COVID-19

Douglas appeared in Stanley Kubrick's Lolita and David Cronenberg's Dead Ringers 

She is also survived by son Thomas Emil Sicks from her first marriage

PUBLISHED 6 April 2020

Kiefer Sutherland announced Sunday that his mother Shirley Douglas has died.

The Designated Survivor star tweeted the news, stressing that his mom's death at 86 was due to pneumonia and was not related to COVID-19.

'My mother was an extraordinary woman who led an extraordinary life. Sadly she had been battling for her health for quite some time and we, as a family, knew this day was coming,' Kiefer, 53, wrote.

Sad news: Kiefer Sutherland announced Sunday that his mother Shirley Douglas has died at 86. He said her death was due to pneumonia and was not related to COVID-19

The actor added: 'To any families who have lost loved ones unexpectedly to the coronavirus, my heart breaks for you. Please stay safe."

Douglas, a Canadian who celebrated her 86th birthday just this past Thursday, shared Kiefer and his twin sister Rachel with ex-husband Donald Sutherland.

The two were married from 1966 to 1970.

She was well-known as both an actress and as an activist and her father Tommy Douglas was the former premier of Saskatchewan and the founder of Canada's Medicare. 

Loss: Kiefer, 53, shared that his mom had been in poor health for some time and paid tribute to her as 'an extraordinary woman who led an extraordinary life' (pictured in 2005)

Empathy: The Designated Survivor and 24 star broke the news via his Twitter on Sunday along with a heartfelt message to others who are losing loved ones at this time

Exes: Douglas was married to fellow Canadian Donald Sutherland from 1966 to 1970 (pictured in 1968). They welcomed son Kiefer and his twin sister Rachel in December 1966

A native of Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Douglas was a longtime resident of Toronto.

She starred in Stanley Kubrick's Lolita released in 1962 and in David Cronenberg's Dead Ringers released in 1988.

She tirelessly supported a variety of causes throughout her life, including the civil rights movement, the Black Panthers and the fight to save Canada's public health care, pioneered by her politician father.

In addition to her children with Donald Sutherland, she is survived by a son Thomas from her first marriage to Canadian prairie brewery heir Timothy Emil Sicks

(OF SICKS BREWERY LETHBRIDGE ALBERTA, THE MAKER OF PILSNER)

Well-known: A native of Saskatchewan, Douglas was a longtime resident of Toronto and the daughter of the province's former premier Tommy Douglas who founded Canada's Medicare

Read more:
Kiefer Sutherland on Twitter: "… "

Kiefer Sutherland announces death of his mother Shirley Douglas who passed away from pneumonia at 86

Donald Trump STOPS Dr. Fauci answering a question about unproven anti-malarial drug during briefing and insists he sees the 'light at the end of the tunnel' after U.S. passes the 'horrific point of death' in the next two weeks

President Donald Trump stopped Dr. Tony Fauci from answering a question about the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine in treating the coronavirus, telling him: 'You don't have to answer that question'

Trump has pushed the anti-malaria drug as preventative against coronavirus, and revealed Sunday that the government has purchased and stockpiled 29 million doses to send to hot spot areas of the country

Fauci has previously warned hydroxychloroquine is not a 'knockout drug' , and says more testing is needed

But Trump told reporters there isn't time, saying: 'I would love to go to a laboratory and spend a couple of years testing something. We don't have time.'

Trump started his daily press briefing Sunday with hopeful note, insisting: 'We're starting to see light at the end of the tunnel'

By EMILY GOODIN, SENIOR U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.CO PUBLISHED: 6 April 2020

President Donald Trump stopped Dr. Tony Fauci from answering a question about the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine in treating the coronavirus as he tried to push a more hopeful message about the pandemic.

Trump has promoted use of the drug to treat coronavirus, after unproven evidence in other countries that it might help. He has even said he'd consider taking hydroxychloroquine himself.

But when reporters tried to get the opinion of Dr Fauci - who has previously warned against seeing the malaria medication as a wonder drug - Trump stepped in and stopped the question.

The president started his daily press briefing on a hopeful note, saying there was a 'light at the end of the tunnel' in the coming days - a marked contrast to his surgeon general who warned earlier Sunday that 'the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans' lives' was coming up in the battle against the coronavirus.

Trump's message was different.

'We're starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. And hopefully in the not-too-distant future we'll be very proud of the job we all did,' he said.

He conceded America was in for a tough week, but went on to add that just meant things were about to get better.

'I think we all know we have to reach a certain point, and that point is going to be a horrific point in terms of death, but it's also a point at which things are going to start changing. We're getting very close to that level right now, and the next week and a half, two weeks are going to be - I think they are going to be very difficult,' he said.

But his tone grew more brisk as he was questioned on the anti-malaria drug he's advocated as a barrier against the highly contagious disease.

Fauci, meanwhile, has warned Americans not to consider it a 'knock out' drug when it comes to the coronavirus.

But Trump stopped Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, from answering a question about using hydroxychloroquine to treat the coronavirus during Sunday's briefing.

'You know how many times he's answered that question: 15 times,' Trump told CNN reporter Jeremy Diamond, who tried to question Fauci.

'You don't have to answer that question,' the president told the doctor. And then he turned back to Diamond. 'He's answered that question 15 times.'


Fauci told Fox News on Friday that people should take care with the anti-malarial, which has many side effects.

'We’ve got to be careful that we don’t make that majestic leap to assume that this is a knockout drug. We still need to do the kinds of studies that definitely prove whether any intervention is truly safe and effective,' he told 'Fox & Friends' on Friday.

Hydroxychloroquine is primarily used to treat lupus and arthritis.

The president announced Sunday the government has purchased and stockpiled 29 million doses of the hydroxychloroquine to send to hot spot areas of the country battling the virus.

'I want people to live and I'm seeing people dying,' he explained Sunday about why he continually touts the drug, which scientists say has not gone under enough testing in regards to the coronavirus.

'I've seen people that are going to die without it, and you know the expression, when that's happening, they should do it. What really do we have to lose? We also have this medicine's been tested for many years for malaria and for lupus, so it's been out there. It is a very strong powerful medicine, but it doesn't kill people,' the president said.

'But what do I know? I’m not a doctor,' Trump conceded. 'I'm not acting as a doctor. I'm saying, do what you want.'

The president also argued there isn't time to conduct in-depth studies on hydroxychloroquine's effect on the coronavirus.

'I would love to go to a laboratory and spend a couple of years testing something. We don't have time. We don't have two hours because there are people dying right now,' he said.

The president grew testy when he was repeatedly questioned about why he pushed a drug medical experts have warned lacks enough information to use for treatment.

'I want them to try it. It may work. It may not work, but if it doesn't work, it's nothing lost by doing it, nothing because we know long-term - what I want, I want to save lives. I don't want it to be in a lab for the next year and a half as people are dying all over the place,' Trump said.

He also argued he wasn't promoting the drug even as he mentioned it repeatedly and bragged about how many doses of it the government purchased to combat the coronavirus.

'I'm not,' he said, when asked why he promoted the drug. 'I'm not at all.'

And he repeated his willingness to take it himself.

'I would be very serious about taking it,' he said. 

BUT HE WON'T WEAR A MASK 

Hydroxychloroquine is currently used to treat Malaria and also Lupus and comes with a laundry list of side effects

President Trump lectured a CNN reporter who asked Dr. Fauci to weigh in about using the anti-malarial as a preventative for the coronavirus

Dr. Anthony Fauci sat on the steps of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building before heading to the White House ahead of Sunday's briefing; he told reporters he was on a conference call and enjoying the nice Washington D.C. weather
BLUE SOCKS, BROWN SHOES, PURPLE TURTLE NECK SWEATER, 

A FASHIONISTA TOO 

Hydroxychloroquine itself can't be used by all Americans. 

It has a laundry list of side effects including slowing the heartbeat, arm, leg and back pain, symptoms of heart failure, hair loss, worsening of skin conditions, stomach and abdominal pain. 

The mental health side effects alone include anxiety, depression, rare thoughts of suicide and hallucinations.   

Last week, the FDA issued emergency authorization for the use of the anti-malarial drug for some coronavirus patients. 

Fauci and White House trade advisor Peter Navarro had a heated exchange on the drug during Saturday's coronavirus task force meeting at the White House, Axios reported. 

Trump tasked Navarro with purchasing supplies to combat the coronavirus and, in that meeting, the trade adviser defended his purchase of hydroxychloroquine at that meeting.

Fauci pushed back against Navarro, saying that there was only anecdotal evidence that it works against the coronavirus, Axios reported. 

Medical officials have questioned why studies in France and China on the drug have not included a control group to measure its effectiveness. 

Some close friends of Trump are also advocating the drug to the president. 

Rudy Giuliani, the president's personal attorney, has talked to Trump about it, The Washington Post reported.

'I discussed it with the president after he talked about it,' Giuliani told the newspaper. 'I told him what I had on the drugs.' 

And Fox News host Sean Hannity has repeatedly touted the drug as a treatment for coronavirus

In the briefing, Trump also defended his sounding a hopeful note about the battle against the virus even as Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned of a tough week ahead in the fight against the coronavirus. 

'I see light at the end of the tunnel. I think indications are some of the numbers coming out today. I think we had a very good meeting today and we are seeing things we don't even report because it's too early to report. They think we are seeing things happen that are very good and we also know, all of us including the medical professions, we have to open our country up,' the president said.

Adams had a different message when he made the rounds of the Sunday morning talk shows.

'This is going to be the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans' lives, quite frankly,' Adams told Fox News Sunday.

'This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment – only it's not going to be localized, it's going to be happening all over the country. And I want America to understand that,' he continued in his warning to Americans.

Fauci, at Sunday evening's White House briefing, stepped in to explain how Trump's words weren't really contradictory. 

'It seems to be inherited contradictory but it really isn't,' he said.  

'It has to do with what we explained before about the lag and when you look at the indications that they were talking about, when you see a flattening out of cases and you don't see the realization of what that means until two weeks later. So right now we are seeing, as we all said, correctly that this is probably going to be really bad week. That is a reflection of what happened to a half weeks ago so if we start seeing a flattening or stabilization of cases, what you are hearing about, potential light at the end of the tunnel doesn't take away from the fact that tomorrow or the next day it's going to look really bad,' he said.

He added it was important to keep the lag time in the reporting of the numbers in mind. 

'We've gotta make sure. We're always talking about a two and half week lag so I wanted to make sure,' he noted. 

Donald Trump dismissed Health Secretary Alex Azar's January warning on coronavirus as 'alarmist' and cut him off during a phone briefing, report says

• Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar  reportedly tried to warn President Donald Trump about coronavirus in a January 18 phone call 
• Trump dismissed his concern as 'alarmist' and talked over Azar
• The White House was first warned about the outbreak in China on January 3
• Trump was reportedly more concerned about his impeachment trial then  
• No serious action was taken until March when Trump ordered public to social distance and stay indoors  in light of the pandemic 
• The US has suffered massive casualties from the virus with over 9,600 deaths  

By MARLENE LENTHANG FOR DAILYMAIL.COM PUBLISHED: 6 April 2020

President Donald Trump dismissed Health Secretary Alex Azar's initial warnings about the deadly coronavirus as 'alarmist' back in January, a new report says.

Trump's administration has been heavily criticized for its delayed reaction to COVID-19 by failing to mobilize upon early warnings, form a chain of command, and organize efficient nation-wide testing - as the US suffers heavy casualties from the virus with over 9,600 deaths. 

But the president had time to respond as he was first notified about the coronavirus outbreak in China on January 3. 

Then, Azar called Trump on January 18 while the president was at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to brief him about the severity of the novel coronavirus.

During that call the president reportedly cut him off before Azar could explain and instead criticized the health secretary over his handling of the axed federal vaping ban.  

At that time the president was reportedly more concerned about his then-ongoing impeachment trial.

That same day the US introduced screening procedures for travelers returning to the US from China who showed symptoms.

Azar told several associates that Trump thought his warnings were 'alarmist', the Washington Post reported Saturday.

Azar, who was involved in the federal government’s response to 9/11 and the 2002 SARS outbreak, even asked a colleague for advice on getting through to the president. 

Despite his efforts, Azar has also been criticized for failing to stress to the president the urgency of the pandemic. 

Days later on January 21 the virus became a real problem for the US when a Seattle man who had recently traveled to Wuhan tested positive for the coronavirus and became the first known infection on American soil. 

Around the same time, US spy agencies signaled to Trump the seriousness of the outbreak and how it could spread. 

In late January into early February leaders at the Health and Human Services department sent two letters to the White House Office of Management and Budget seeking to transfer $136million in department funds to combat the virus. 

White House budget officials said that was too much money to allocate when there were only a few cases in the US and it would be viewed as alarmist. 

Overall it took 70 days for Trump to finally seriously act on the virus and initiate lockdown measures and stay at home orders.  

Still, the White House has defended its response to the crisis. 

'While the media would rather speculate about outrageous claims of palace intrigue, President Trump and this Administration remain completely focused on the health and safety of the American people with around the clock work to slow the spread of the virus, expand testing, and expedite vaccine development,' Judd Deere, a spokesman for the president, said. 

'Because of the President’s leadership we will emerge from this challenge healthy, stronger, and with a prosperous and growing economy.' 

For months the president downplayed the seriousness of the virus.

Days after Azar’s warning Trump told reporters 'we have it [the coronavirus] totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control.'

Then in February the optimistic president boasted the virus would be gone by April.

He even described the deadly bug as a 'new hoax' cooked up by Democrats in light of the upcoming presidential election.

Only in March did the president seem to crack down and initiate stay at home orders and mobilize legislation to help unemployed Americans as businesses shut down and the number of virus-stricken citizens skyrocketed.

In the US there are over 337,000 cases of COVID-19 and at least 9,600 deaths. 

The US' Head Surgeon says the worst is yet to come and the next two weeks will be the most catastrophic for the nation.  

In total the White House anticipates between 100,000 to 240,000 deaths from the virus.  

Read more:

• - The Washington Post

Sex Workers Are Facing Increasingly Risky Conditions As The Coronavirus Spreads

Sex workers are losing money because of the coronavirus. Advocates say that means they’re more likely to face exploitation.

Otillia Steadman BuzzFeed News Reporter Posted on March 13, 2020

Courtesy of Jade
Jade, an escort who lives in Austin, said she is asking clients to wash their hands for 30 seconds to protect against the coronavirus.

Sex workers are facing dire financial and personal circumstances as fear of the coronavirus extends into every corner of life, with some under pressure to work in increasingly risky conditions.

Escorts, strippers, dominatrixes, and an intimacy coach told BuzzFeed News they had lost thousands of dollars due to canceled conferences, travel restrictions, and clients’ fears of being in public spaces.

Porn performers have been advised to stockpile video content to release in the event that the industry shuts down, but the most vulnerable sex workers face the threat of exploitation and homelessness.

“Anytime there’s this type of panic,” said sex worker and activist Molly Simmons, “clients understand that as a shift in power.”

As public health departments recommend "social distancing," the sex workers whom BuzzFeed News spoke to explained how they’re planning to continue to support themselves while trying to protect their health in the midst of a global pandemic.

Some said they are turning to online work like sexting and video calls, putting wish lists of food and other goods on Amazon, asking questions about their clients’ travel history, and relying on trusted clients to make ends meet.

But, like the millions of hotel and food service workers in the US with bills and no paid leave, some sex workers said they would simply have to keep working.

“I have a house and a car. I have a mouth to feed. I don’t have time for a stupid virus to stop my money flow,” said Carly, a stripper in Seattle who asked to be identified by her stage name for privacy reasons.


Courtesy of Carly
Carly, a stripper who works in Seattle where there have been the highest number of cases in the US so far.


In Seattle, which has recorded the most cases of the coronavirus so far in the US and where schools have closed, sex workers said they’ve already seen a dramatic drop in business.

Lady A, a dominatrix in the city, said she’s been losing at least $500 a week since concerns about the virus hit, and that the three women she shares a workspace with have faced the same. “We would usually do, say, three clients per day in that space,” Lady A, who asked to be identified by her professional pseudonym to maintain her privacy, told BuzzFeed News.

“This last weekend we would usually have been booked, but it was open. So that’s pretty bad,” she said.

Malice Amarantine, who works as a stripper in Seattle, said she has had nights where she went home empty-handed, and that she barely made rent last month. “I made the last two dollars I needed on the fifth of the month,” she said, adding that that had never happened before.


Courtesy of Malice Amarantine

Amarantine said that concerns about the virus had affected the service industry broadly in the city, but that she felt sex workers had been hit particularly hard.

This is partly due to the perception that strip clubs are dirty, Amarantine told BuzzFeed News. “In general, strip clubs are suffering a little bit more because even though it’s totally untrue, they’re seen as being grimy places. So I think there’s just this perception of them being more high risk,” she said.

Amarantine said that while some strip clubs might deserve the bad reputation, most clubs clean aggressively, and that strippers themselves are obsessed with Purell.

“Strippers are some of the cleanest people because we have to smell good to make money,” she explained. “We all carry hand sanitizer in our purses, and we always have.”


Courtesy of Malice Amarantine
A poster advising that people wash their hands for at least 20 seconds at the strip club where Malice Amarantine and Carly work.

She said she had so much hand sanitizer, in fact, that even in the midst of people panic-buying the disinfectant, she didn’t expect to run out anytime soon. “Our club actually has hand sanitizer there, and it’s still there. I already have one in my purse, there’s one in my kitchen, I have one I keep in my car, so I’m not running out anytime soon,” she said.

River, an escort based in Alaska, who spoke to BuzzFeed News on Twitter and only gave her professional name, compared the current environment to the financial crash in 2007 and the passage of FOSTA-SESTA, a 2018 federal law that restricted content related to selling sex online, and said that she didn’t expect to work until the crisis had subsided.

She said she had learned to save for tough times, but would still probably have to put her taxes on her credit card. “In sex work you have to save and be ready, because when you need money is when you start letting your safety practices slip,” she said.

River, who was traveling in Europe when she first spoke to BuzzFeed News, said she had changed her return flight after Trump announced travel restrictions, and that she would self-quarantine at home. She said she had made a quarantine wish list on Amazon and said some clients have been sending her supplies. “These sweeties bought me like 12lbs of dried cherries, 2lbs of dried blueberries, and 25lbs of rice so far!” she said.

In Austin, where the cancellation of SXSW has already caused layoffs and hurt the local economy broadly, intimacy coach and sex educator Sasha Rose said she has been forced to cancel naked yoga, play parties — where partygoers can have sex or watch others in a safe space with sex-positive ground rules — and a big event with a panel discussion she was planning on the sidelines of SXSW for a friend’s book launch.

Rose said clients would normally complain about event cancellations, but that she hadn’t heard from anyone this time around. She’s not so upset about it herself — “I don’t want to kiss anybody,” she told BuzzFeed News.

Jade, an escort in Austin who asked to be referred to by her porn persona to protect her identity, said she was continuing to see clients, but was nervous because she has a few clients who travel regularly to Houston and San Antonio, where there had been confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. She said she has gotten more serious about asking clients to wash before she sees them.

“Most people are showered or they come in and shower, but I don’t always ask them to go wash their hands right when they come in,” said Jade. But since the spread of the virus, she said she’s been stricter. “I’m like, ‘stay at the sink for 30 seconds.’ Some people turn the water on, and it’s often 5 seconds, and I’m like, 'you didn’t wash your hands,'” she said.


 Courtesy of Sasha Rose

Rose, the sex educator, and other sex workers told BuzzFeed News that they’re relying on online sessions with clients to keep some money coming in while they wait for the spread of the virus to slow down and public fear to subside.

“I work with people on intimacy and relating in trauma. I teach somatic processing,” said Rose, referring to an alternative therapy for people dealing with PTSI. “So I’m focusing on that area. It makes me a lot less money,” she said.

Madame Rose, a dominatrix based in LA, said she’s actually seeing some clients more regularly through online sessions, which include tasks and instructions built around what a client likes. “A couple of regulars ... have requested more video sessions than I would normally see them face to face,” she said. “It’s interesting.”

Despite the video calls, she said the situation has declined rapidly and she’s still losing money overall. “I’ve definitely lost some money. I wouldn’t say it’s catastrophic numbers yet, but enough to feel the impact. It’s made me feel that I need to boost my video and clips production so that I can continue to make money.”

Bella French, the CEO of cam site ManyVids, told BuzzFeed News that although she decided to cancel upcoming photoshoots and travel for her staff, the site was doing well.

“Our sales are doing really really good. I feel like it’s almost benefitting the adult industry,” French said. “I think people stay home more, some maybe they’re a little more bored than usual, so maybe they consume a little bit more than they would.”

French also made a point to note that she thought headlines about porn videos tied to the fantasy of the coronavirus were “fake news,” and explained that it’s a common marketing strategy for porn sites to get more clicks. “I talked to my data science team,” French said, “We didn’t see any influence of that on ManyVids.”

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC), a porn industry trade association that oversees an STI screening program for porn performers, recommended that performers stockpile videos to release in the event that porn sets are shut down.

Mike Stabile, who is the communications director for the FSC, told BuzzFeed News that this was the first time in memory that the industry had discussed a shutdown for something that was not an STI. The FSC administers a system called PASS, which records the results of biweekly tests that performers are required to get. If someone passes, they get a green check, but if they skip the test or they fail, they get a red X. In the event of a shutdown, everyone’s results show a red X, meaning no one is cleared for work.




Stabile said the FSC is not expecting a shutdown at this point, but in a statement put out Friday, the FSC advised performers and producers to begin actively planning for one, and said individual performers should make their own choices about whether or not to continue shooting. In addition to standard protections for health, the FSC also suggested performers and studios make more videos now so they would have new content to release if the virus did eventually cause a widespread shutdown or performers get sick. “The last thing you want in a situation like this is a financial incentive for people to go on set when they’re not feeling well.”

For the most vulnerable, though, there are few alternatives, and the diminishing client base only puts sex workers at further risk, said Simmons, who is based in Brooklyn.

Simmons, along with her co-chapter representatives at the Brooklyn chapter of the Sex Worker Outreach Project (SWOP), established a GoFundMe campaign to provide crisis relief for sex workers dealing with increasing financial strain, and is putting together resource guides to help people access social services.

“When work is really scarce and everybody is really worried about their money, there are some clients,” said Simmons, “who try to take advantage of that.”

“They will push for lower prices, they will push for not having to screen, they will push for unsafe work practices — whether that’s bareback or meeting someone you don’t know or meeting in an unsafe location or being forced to push your own personal boundaries of what you’re willing to do,” she explained. “Because they know that workers are really desperate for money.”

A fund similar to the one SWOP Brooklyn has created has been established in Seattle, and No Justice No Pride, a mutual aid organization that supports the transgender community in DC, was also taking donations to provide supplies to trans people and sex workers, saying, “we are concerned about how the spread of COVID-19 may affect work environments for sex workers.”

The virus, which lives in the upper respiratory system, poses yet another risk for sex workers.

Dr. Peter Meacher, the chief medical officer at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center in New York City, said that although there’s still a lot we don’t know about the coronavirus, we do know that it primarily spreads through droplets transmitted into the air by coughing and sneezing.

Meacher said kissing posed a particular risk. “You are at risk of exposure to COVID from each person you’re having that type of contact with. And whilst we think people are most infectious when they have symptoms — the symptoms again, this is an important message to get out, specifically, cough and fever — we honestly don’t really know about the days before symptoms,” said Meacher, speaking over the phone.

Sex workers face different degrees of risk depending on what they’re doing, said Chuck Cloniger, clinical director at the St. James Infirmary, which provides clinical and social services to sex workers in San Francisco.

“People who are doing street-based sex work, may not be able to stop doing sex work to survive,” said Cloniger.

For people who trade sex to survive and other sex workers who continue to see people in person, Cloniger recommends a discussion with clients ahead of time to ask the same questions about recent travel and other risk factors that doctors may be asking. Meacher, at Callen-Lorde, also emphasized that handwashing was an important step for everyone.

Madame Rose, the LA-based dominatrix, said she has already implemented this, adding some health-related questions to the prescreening she does with clients.


Courtesy of Madame Rose
Madame Rose, a dominatrix in Los Angeles, said she's losing money and trying to make up for lost income with videos.

“If somebody did show up for a session and they were wheezing and dripping and coughing I would definitely send them home, because that would be violation of my consent at that point,” said Rose.

But Simmons, the sex worker and activist, said that for the most vulnerable sex workers that advice missed the point. “Without any adequate connection to government services to help people stay alive — literally stay alive — people don’t have any other option but to continue to do what they’ve always done," she said.

Ruth Morgan Thomas, who advocates for sex worker rights around the world, argued that the health crisis was also exacerbated by criminalization of sex work, which limits sex workers’ ability to access health care and other social services. “For me, this just amplifies the vulnerabilities [that result from] criminalization and the refusal of many governments to recognize sex workers as part of the labor force in the country,” said Morgan Thomas, adding that it “somehow makes people feel we have less rights to the social protection systems that others have.”

Amarantine, who works as a stripper in Seattle, said that she has health care coverage through the state due to an accident a few years ago. She agreed with Morgan Thomas, adding that lack of rights and access to health care for sex workers and others in the service industry puts the broader community at risk too.

“It trickles up hill, I guess you could say. I wish more people understood,” she said.

Carly, who works with Amarantine, said she’s relying on her training as a certified nurse assistant to stay healthy during the pandemic because she doesn’t currently have health insurance. “I did last year because of my other job...” she said. “Knock on wood.”●

Scared but desperate, Thai sex workers forced to the street
 

AFP / Aidan JONES

Red-light districts from Bangkok to Pattaya have gone quiet with night clubs and massage parlours closed and tourists blocked from entering the country

A shutdown to contain the coronavirus has killed Thailand's party scene and forced sex workers like Pim out of bars and onto desolate streets. She's scared but desperately needs customers to pay her rent.

Red-light districts from Bangkok to Pattaya have gone quiet with night clubs and massage parlours closed and tourists blocked from entering the country.

That has left an estimated 300,000 sex workers out of a job, pressing some onto the streets where the risks are sharpened by the pandemic.

"I'm afraid of the virus but I need to find customers so I can pay for my room and food," Pim, a 32-year-old transgender sex worker, told AFP in an area of Bangkok where previously bawdy neon-lit bars and brothels have gone dark.

Since Friday Thais have been under a 10 pm to 4 am curfew. Bars and eat-in restaurants closed several days earlier.

Many of Bangkok's sex workers had jobs in the relative safety of bars, working for tips and willing to go home with customers.

When their workplaces suddenly closed most returned home to wait out the crisis.

Others like Pim went to work the streets.

AFP / Mladen ANTONOV

Since Friday Thais have been under a 10 pm to 4 am curfew. 

Bars and eat-in restaurants closed several days earlier.

The government says it is ready to enforce a 24-hour curfew if necessary to control a virus that has infected more than 2,000 people and killed 20, according to official figures.

Pim is paying a heavy price for the movement restrictions -- she has not had a customer for 10 days and the bills are stacking up.

Her friend Alice, another transgender sex worker, has also been forced to move from a go-go bar to the roadside.

"I used to make decent money sometimes $300-600 a week," Alice says.

"But when businesses shut down my income stopped too. We are doing this because we're poor. If we can't pay our hotel they will kick us out."

- High risk -

The occasional tourist loiters near clusters of sex workers, before a furtive negotiation and a quick march to a nearby hotel, one of the few still open on Bangkok's main tourist drag.

The already high risks of sex work have rocketed as the virus spreads.

Sex workers have flocked back to homes across the country in anticipation of several weeks of virtual lockdown before Thailand's night economy comes back to life.

There are fears the malaise could last for months, yanking billions of tourist dollars from the economy and leaving those working in the informal sector destitute.

AFP / Aidan JONES

The occasional tourist loiters near clusters of sex workers, before a furtive negotiation and a quick march to a nearby hotel, one of the few still open on Bangkok's main tourist drag

They include sex workers -- an illegal but widely accepted part of Thailand's nightlife.

There are concerns that a Thai government emergency scheme to give 5,000 baht ($150) to millions of newly jobless over the next three months will exclude sex workers because they cannot prove formal employment.

The Empower Foundation, an advocacy group for the kingdom's sex workers, says entertainment venues make around $6.4 billion a year, many of them selling sex in some form.

Women are suffering the most from the virus measures, it says. Many are mothers and their family's main income earner, forced into sex work by lack of opportunities or low graduate salaries.

The group has written an open letter to the government urging it to "find a way to provide assistance to all workers who have lost their earnings".

As the 10 pm curfew looms, Pim and Alice prepare for a final forlorn patrol for customers.

"I think the government has been really slow. They don't care about people like us who work in the sex industry," Alice said.

"We're more afraid of having nothing to eat than the virus."

burs-apj/amj/

Why Sex Work Is Real Work
"I do not believe it is right or just that people who exchange sexual services for money are criminalized and I am not for what I do."
BY DR. TLALENG MOFOKENG APRIL 26, 2019 TEEN VOGUE

GETTY IMAGES

In this op-ed, Tlaleng Mofokeng, MD, founder of Nalane for Reproductive Justice, explains why she believes sex work should be decriminalized across the globe.

The government of Amsterdam, a city known worldwide for its Red Light District, will ban the popular guided tours through that area starting in 2020. The ban stems in part from complaints calling the tours a nuisance that lead to congestion in the narrow canal-side streets. But city officials have also said the ban is out of respect for sex workers. “It is no longer acceptable in this age to see sex workers as a tourist attraction,” city councillor Udo Kock said, according to The Guardian. There’s one problem: Many sex workers are opposing this plan.

Sex work is legal in Amsterdam, but it isn’t in many other places, though some people are working to make it so. In South Africa, where I am based, for instance, sex workers are calling for decriminalization and legal reform. They argue that sex work is work, as affirmed by the International Labor Organization (ILO), a specialized agency of the United Nations. This situation in Amsterdam, and the continued criminalization of sex workers around the world, is yet another example of how we disregard the needs and opinions of the people most impacted by policies. But even more so, it’s another example of how we misunderstand what sex work actually is. I am a doctor, an expert in sexual health, but when you think about it, aren't I a sex worker? And in some ways, aren't we all?

So, what exactly is sex work? Not all sex workers engage in penetrative sex, though, undeniably, that is a big part of sex work. Sex-worker services between consenting adults may include companionship, intimacy, nonsexual role playing, dancing, escorting, and stripping. These roles are often pre-determined, and all parties should be comfortable with them. Many workers take on multiple roles with their clients, and some may get more physical while other interactions that may have started off as sexual could evolve into emotional and psychological bonding.

The clients who seek sex workers vary, and they’re not just men. The idea of purchasing intimacy and paying for the services can be affirming for many people who need human connection, friendship, and emotional support. Some people may have fantasies and kink preferences that they are able to fulfill with the services of a sex worker.

I find it interesting that as a medical doctor, I exchange payment in the form of money with people to provide them with advice and treatment for sex-related problems; therapy for sexual performance, counseling and therapy for relationship problems, and treatment of sexually transmitted infection. Isn't this basically sex work? I do not believe it is right or just that people who exchange sexual services for money are criminalized and I am not for what I do. Is a medical degree really the right measure of who is deserving of dignity, autonomy, safety in the work place, fair trade and freedom of employment? No. This should not be so. Those who engage in sex work deserve those things, too.

Today, online spaces and apps make the interactions and negotiations safer for women sex workers as opposed to soliciting sex outdoors, where the threat of community and police harassment remains a concern. (Recent legislation in the United States that makes it harder for sex workers to advertise online, however, has complicated this.) Apps also make it less intimidating for women who are clients to screen and meet potential sex workers to cater to their needs.
Still, continued criminalization of sex work and sex workers is a form of violence by governments and contributes to the high level of stigma and discrimination. A systematic review and meta-analysis led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), for instance, has found that sex workers who have experienced "repressive policing" (including arrest, extortion, and violence from police) are three times more likely to experience sexual or physical violence.

But governments often fail to accept the evidence for the economic and social bases for sex work; the ILO estimates that “sex workers support between five and eight other people with their earnings. Sex workers also contribute to the economy.” Governments ignore the nuanced histories and contexts in different countries and thus continue to wrongfully offer blanket solutions and "rescue" models that advocate for partial decriminalization or continued criminalization. They also ignore the wishes of sex workers, who want full decriminalization, as supported by the Global Commission on HIV and the Law, and the Lancet, as well as human rights organizations like Amnesty International.
Global efforts toward decriminalization have been growing in some countries, such as South Africa. Here, it is led by the biggest sex worker movement, Sisonke, and the advocacy and policy work of SWEAT. These efforts are mirrored by the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) and the Dutch Union for Sex workers, PROUD.

In July 2018, at the International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam, I joined colleagues and allies and marched in solidarity with PROUD as they delivered a memorandum to city officials, demanding protection of the right of sex workers to work in safe working conditions. The moment was important in invigorating the global movement for decriminalization.

Sex workers must be affirmed through upholding and the protection of their human rights to autonomy, dignity, fair labor practices, access to evidence-based care. It is for this and many other reasons that I believe sex work and sex worker rights are women’s rights, health rights, labor rights, and the litmus test for intersectional feminism.

Further, the impact of continued criminalization of the majority of sex workers, most of whom are cisgender women and transgender women, mean that sex worker rights are a feminist issue. If you support women’s rights, I urge you to support the global demand for sex work decriminalization, and fund evidence and rights-based intersectional programs aimed at sex workers and their clients.

We must support efforts to address structural barriers and ensure the implementation of a comprehensive package of health services for sex workers as advised by the World Health Organization, and fund public campaigns to decrease stigma. Evidence, not morality, should guide law reforms and sex work policy for full sex work decriminalization.

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UN chief urges govts to protect women during virus lockdown

AFP/File / PHILIPPE LOPEZ"For many women and girls, the threat looms largest where they should be safest. In their own homes," says UN chief, urging protection of women during lockdown

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has urged governments to include the protection of women in their response to the deadly novel coronavirus pandemic.

Reports of domestic violence have surged globally in the wake of massive lockdowns imposed to contain the spread of the disease.

"Violence is not confined to the battlefield," said Guterres in a statement and video released in multiple languages, days after his call for a worldwide ceasefire in the wake of the outbreak.

"For many women and girls, the threat looms largest where they should be safest. In their own homes," he said.

Describing the rise in domestic violence as "horrifying," he urged all governments "to make the prevention and redress of violence against women a key part of their national response plans for COVID-19."

Other/AFP / Mark GARTENUN Secretary General Antonio Guterres wants governments to help protect women from abusers during the coronavirus lockdowns around the world

India reported double the usual number of domestic abuse cases in the first week of nationwide movement restrictions, according to the country's National Commission for Women.

Cases in France rose by a third in the week after that country's lockdown, authorities said, while Australia reported a 75 percent increase in internet searches relating to support for domestic violence victims.

Guterres called for setting up emergency warning systems in pharmacies and groceries, and for safe ways "for women to seek support, without alerting their abusers."

"Together, we can and must prevent violence everywhere, from war zones to people's homes, as we work to beat COVID-19," he said, as he called "for peace at home -- and in homes -- around the world."

Crowd in Ivory Coast destroys 

coronavirus test centre

AFP / ISSOUF SANOGOThe authorities have already closed shops selling non-essential items as part of measures to limit the spread of the virus

Residents in a working-class district of the Ivory Coast city of Abidjan on Sunday destroyed a coronavirus testing centre that was under construction, police and health ministry officials said.

Videos posted on social media, showed several dozen people dismantling the building, some of them shouting: "We don't want it!"

The incident happened in Yopougon district of the city of five million inhabitants, which is the country's commercial capital.

Locals had demonstrated against the centre because they thought it was too close to their homes and right in the middle of a residential district, one police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.

But the building, which was still under construction, had never been intended as a treatment centre for virus patients -- only as a testing centre, said a health ministry official, who also asked not to be named.

This was the first violent incident connected to the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, which so far appears to have been relatively untouched by the virus, at least according to official figures.

They put the number of cases at 261, with three deaths so far.

Nevertheless, the authorities are trying to increase their capacity to treat the outbreak.

President Alassane Ouattara declared a state of emergency on March 23.

Abidjan has already been placed under quarantine, effectively cut off from the rest of the country, and a nationwide overnight curfew is in force.

Schools, churches and non-essential shops have been closed and gatherings have been banned.

On Saturday, senior health officials recommended that people wear masks in public places to try to slow the spread of the virus.

So far however, the government has not ordered a full lockdown.

Last Tuesday, the government announced a 2.6-billion-euro plan ($2.8 billion) to tackle the economic and social effects of the pandemic, which is forecast to halve the country's growth rate to 3.6 percent in 2020.

ZOONOSIS IN REVERSE

Bronx zoo tiger tests positive for coronavirus

                                            CATS ARE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE THAN DOGS 

Wildlife Conservation Society/AFP /Four-year-old Malayan tiger Nadia who has tested positive for Covid-19

A tiger at New York's Bronx Zoo has tested positive for COVID-19, the institution said Sunday, and is believed to have contracted the virus from a caretaker who was asymptomatic at the time.

The four-year-old Malayan tiger named Nadia along with her sister Azul, two Amur tigers and three African lions all developed dry coughs and are expected to fully recover, the Wildlife Conservation Society that runs the city's zoos said in a statement.

"We tested the cat out of an abundance of caution and will ensure any knowledge we gain about COVID-19 will contribute to the world's continuing understanding of this novel coronavirus," the statement sent to AFP said.

"Though they have experienced some decrease in appetite, the cats at the Bronx Zoo are otherwise doing well under veterinary care and are bright, alert, and interactive with their keepers," the statement continued.

"It is not known how this disease will develop in big cats since different species can react differently to novel infections, but we will continue to monitor them closely and anticipate full recoveries."

All four of the zoos and the aquarium in New York -- whose virus death toll has topped 4,000 -- have been closed since March 16.

The zoo emphasized that there is "no evidence that animals play a role in the transmission of COVID-19 to people other than the initial event in the Wuhan market, and no evidence that any person has been infected with COVID-19 in the US by animals, including by pet dogs or cats."

Chinese disease control officials had identified wild animals sold in a Wuhan market as the source of the coronavirus pandemic that has infected well over one million people worldwide.

According to the US Department of Agriculture website there had "not been reports of pets or other animals" in the United States falling ill with coronavirus prior to news of the tiger Nadia.

"It is still recommended that people sick with COVID-19 limit contact with animals until more information is known about the virus," the department's website says.

In late March a pet cat was discovered infected with the novel coronavirus in Belgium, following similar cases in Hong Kong where two dogs tested positive for COVID-19.

All of those animals are believed to have contracted the virus from the people they live with.

The Bronx zoo said preventative measures were in place for caretakers as well as all cats in the city's zoos.