FKA Twigs raising funds for UK sex workers facing loss of income due to coronavirus

Singer wants to 'shine a light on the challenges facing sex workers, especially during these uncertain times’

FKA Twigs has launched a GoFundMe campaign to support sex workers facing a loss of income during the coronavirus pandemic.

On Tuesday, the "Cellophane" singer opened up about her own experience in the industry and revealed that she has kick-started the initiative with a £10,000 donation.

Alongside a photograph of herself holding her hands up to her face, FKA Twigs – whose real name is Tahliah Debrett Barnett – wrote: “I was 19 when I learnt my first pole move, I learnt a back hook spin from a stripper when I was working as a hostess in a gentleman’s club.

“For those of you who don’t know, hostessing is when one person pays another person for their time, anything from a conversation over dinner to sex work, and the club gets a cut of the fee.”

She continued: “My lived experience as a very young woman in these environments has not only informed the strong and formidable woman that I am today, but also a lot of my work as a music and visual artist – sometimes even subconsciously.”

The "Video Girl" singer went on to highlight the importance of the cause and how it aims to destigmatise the profession and help work towards more protection and rights for sex workers.

“I feel like now is the time for me to step forward, pay respect, and shine a light on the challenges facing sex workers, especially during these uncertain times,” she wrote.

“Sex workers I know and have met have discipline, craft, talent and work ethic – not only do they deserve better long-term, but their income has been wiped out by the lockdown and many are invisible to the financial aid available to others.”

The GoFundMe page has been set-up in partnership with a number of sex worker-led organisations including SWARM (Sex Worker Advocacy and Resistance Movement), Lysistrata, and East London Strippers Collective, which are all providing direct financial support to strippers and sex workers during the pandemic.

FKa Twigs added that she would be allowing the organisations to take over her social media channels later this week, in order to share more information with her followers about their work.

You can donate to the sex worker mutual funds here.