Emotional burden and self-sare strategies among individuals in the sex trade during COVID-19 in Israel

Research on the sex trade during COVID-19 has documented the intertwined material and emotional hardships faced by individuals in the sex trade. Building on these insights, this article examines how self-care practices functioned as relational and strategic responses to crisis. Drawing on twenty semi-structured interviews conducted in Israel between May and December 2020, findings highlight two intersecting themes: the emotional burden caused by isolation, surveillance, and financial insecurity; and the self-care strategies participants employed to sustain themselves. These included reaching out for support, engaging in mutual aid, returning to work under duress, and setting protective boundaries. Rather than viewing self-care as a personal wellness practice, the article conceptualises it as a situated form of agency shaped by structural neglect. While the data reflect a specific historical moment, the insights they generate speak to broader questions of crisis governance, marginality, and the everyday production of resilience. By centreing the voices and practices of individuals in the sex trade, the article offers a politically attuned understanding of self-care under systemic disruption. This study offers empirical insight into how marginalised individuals navigated crisis conditions, advances a relational understanding of self-care shaped by systemic forces, and suggests the policy relevance of peer-informed, community-based approaches.