Loan sharks target Indian sex workers hit by pandemic 23 February 2021 - 14:27 By Reuters As COVID-19 hit their incomes, hundreds of cash-strapped sex workers in India turned to unofficial moneylenders to get through the pandemic. Stock image. Image: 123RF/terovesalainen
When Indian sex worker Baji fell behind on her repayments to a loan shark during lockdown, her house was ransacked and her only belongings of any value - the kitchen utensils - were stolen. It was another low point in a terrible year.
As COVID-19 hit their incomes, hundreds of cash-strapped sex workers in southern Andhra Pradesh state turned to unofficial moneylenders to get through the pandemic - most of them lacking the papers needed to get formal bank credit, campaigners said.