Resolution about measures to regulate prostitution
Last Friday, the Upper House of the German Parliament, the Bundesrat, passed a resolution calling for an objective debate and differentiated measures amid plans by the ruling coalition of Conservatives and Social Democrats to reform the German Prostitution Act of 2002 (ProstG).
The Bundesrat found that debates in the public sphere and in the media were still based on prejudices, a lack of knowledge and sensationalism. The Bundesrat particularly opposed the blanket equation of prostitution and human trafficking. Even if prostitution might not be a “job like any other”, the Bundesrat affirmed that it fell under the freedom to choose an occupation, according to Article 12 of the German Basic Law.
In 2012, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) reported 612 victims of human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation in Germany. Despite the assumption that a considerable number of cases remained unreported, the identified cases had to be seen in relation to the estimated number of sex workers.
The Bundesrat also stated that there was no solid evidence that the adoption of the Prostitution Act had lead to an increase in human trafficking. Despite an increase in investigative proceedings, the number of victims had not increased since the Prostitution Act came into effect.
Click link below to download the resolution of the Bundesrat. This resource is in German.
[…] Bundesrat demands objective debate amid plans to reform Prostitution Act […]
[…] The Bundesrat also stated that there was no solid evidence that the adoption of the Prostitution Act had lead to an increase in human trafficking. Despite an increase in investigative proceedings, the number of victims had not increased …read more […]
It appears the Germans, having had some experience with ultra-nationalism disguised as moral reform, are looking at this whole proposition a bit more skeptically. Good for them.