"Bangladesh sex workers face hunger, abuse as coronavirus hits trade", 27 June 2020
Bangladesh is home to about 100,000 sex workers and charities estimate that seven out of 10 are struggling to survive, three months after the country shut down to stop the spread of the virus.
Although sex work is legal in Bangladesh, the vast majority operate outside registered brothels, on the streets or in private residences, according to the United Nations, meaning they have little protection from abusers....
Rina Akter, a former sex worker who now campaigns for their rights, said at least 35 out of about 150 women she surveyed in Dhaka reported being beaten, either by a pimps or a stranger.
Bangladesh has now lifted most of the restrictions put in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, but campaigners said sex work had not recovered.
...The government said it was talking to charities to find a way to support sex workers.It gave food handouts to registered brothels during the lockdown and on Wednesday it distributed 10 kilos (22 lb) of rice to each of the 1,300 sex workers at the Daulatdia brothel in Dhaka, one of the largest in the world.