Prostitution to be banned as no improvement seen in employment rights and conditions

Prostitution was legalized in Germany in 2002, but the practice is regulated to some extent at the local level.

Those now seeking to repeal the law argue that it has failed in its goal of improving conditions for sex workers. In 2007, the German government published a report on the impact of the law and found that the working conditions of only 35% of sex workers had improved.

Today, some German politicians say that the majority of the 250,000 sex workers in the country have, in practice, still not seen an improvement in their employment rights and conditions.

According to Dorothee Bär, deputy chair of the parliamentary group of Germany's two main Christian Democratic parties, most of the sex workers in the country come from abroad and lack documentation. It is said that this puts them at risk of exploitation.

Speaking to Bild, Bär said, "There can be no true equality as long as we accept that hundreds of thousands of women are treated like slaves. This is an attack on human dignity that we must urgently end. Germany has become the brothel of Europe. Women are subjected to the worst possible treatment."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a member of the center-left SPD, also called for pressure to be applied. Scholz stated, "I find it unacceptable that men buy women. This is something that has always morally outraged me."

However, Germany's Minister for Women and Green Party member Lisa Paus said there is no immediate plan to change the current rules. Paus added that the 2017 Prostitute Protection Act is currently in an evaluation phase until 2025.

News Source: 12punto