Indian woman seeks divorce from husband who turned to sex work after losing job due to Covid cuts

Despite counselling, the couple could not resolve their differences

Representational image. A woman has sought divorce after her husband started working as a commercial sex worker (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A 24-year-old woman in a southern Indian state sought divorce from her husband after learning that he allegedly took up commercial sex work after losing his job during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 27-year-old man in Karnataka was let off from work during the nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19 last year.

His wife noticed a few months later that he was constantly on his phone and laptop, a counsellor, who reportedly advised the couple whose real identity has not been revealed, told the Times of India newspaper. He was also going out frequently at odd hours, she said.

In November, the woman reportedly took her brother’s help to access her husband’s laptop and found a secret folder. It contained nude photos of her husband and selfies of women she didn’t recognise. She discovered he was a male escort and had numerous clients in the city of Bengaluru, the counsellor said.

When he refused to admit that they were his photos, the wife approached a women’s helpline of Bengaluru police.

The man later admitted that he liked his new job, but promised to give it up to save his marriage. Despite counselling, the couple could not resolve their differences and agreed to part ways, the counsellor told the paper.

An estimated 122 million people in India lost their jobs in April last year, according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), an independent think tank.