Dorothee Bär bei einer Sitzung im Bundestag
Foto: IMAGO/Jean MW / IMAGO/Future Image
According to reports, the Federal Association for Erotic and Sexual Services rejects the proposal by Deputy Union Faction Leader Dorothee Bär to ban the purchase of sex in Germany. Such a ban would result in even worse working conditions for sex workers in precarious situations, said the association’s spokesperson Kolja-André Nolte to the newspapers of the Funke Media Group. „In plain terms: Those who are supposed to be saved actually have to remain in sex work.“ This applies to those without any other professional alternatives.
The Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) quotes the association with similar statements.
Die CSU-Politikerin Bär hatte sich zuvor dafür ausgesprochen, den Kauf von Sex in Deutschland zu verbieten, um betroffene Frauen besser zu schützen. »Deutschland hat sich zum Bordell Europas entwickelt. Deutschland ist mittlerweile auch weltweit als Land für Sex-Tourismus sehr attraktiv«, sagte Bär der »Bild«. Nach ihrer Schätzung gibt es bundesweit derzeit rund 250.000 Prostituierte.
She had advocated for the implementation of the „Nordic model“ as seen in Sweden, where the buyers of sex services are punished rather than the prostitutes. „The example of Sweden shows that with a ban on purchasing sex, the number of prostitutes decreases significantly.“
The Green Party in the Bundestag also does not support the proposal, according to reports. „We Greens are critical of a ban on sex purchases,“ said Ulle Schauws, spokesperson for women’s issues. The Union is simplifying the issue. „We know that prostitutes are at risk of being pushed into illegality through a ban.“
Since the introduction of the Prostitution Act in 2002, prostitution in Germany is no longer considered immoral but rather a regular profession. The former red-green coalition aimed to improve the legal and social situation of sex workers with this law – however, according to experts, the opposite effect has partly occurred.