Calls to ban prostitution in Germany have gained traction more than twenty years after its legalization, with concerns raised over the country’s reputation as the ‘brothel of Europe.’
Legalized in 2002 by a previous center-left government, prostitution was aimed at providing employment rights, welfare benefits, and legal recourse for roughly 250,000 sex workers in Germany.
However, some German politicians argue that the majority of sex workers in the country have not experienced significant improvements in their working conditions and rights.
Dorothee Bär, the deputy leader of the parliamentary group for Germany’s two main Christian Democratic parties, highlighted that many sex workers in the country, especially those from abroad without proper documentation, are vulnerable to exploitation.
Bär emphasized to German news outlet Bild: “There can be no real equality as long as we accept that hundreds of thousands of women are treated like slaves. It is an offence against human dignity that we urgently need to end.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a member of the center-left SPD, has also voiced his disapproval of the current situation, stating “I find it unacceptable when men buy women. This is something that has always morally outraged me.”
He further called for a “discussion on how to address the purchase of sex”, emphasizing the need to combat it, and has received support from other political parties.
The opposition party in Germany, the center-right CDU, is in favor of adopting the Nordic model, where buying sex is punishable, but sex workers themselves are not prosecuted.