A long time ago, mostly German sex workers took their suitors to apartments they rented nearby. Residents living there have been complaining about the situation to the authorities numerous times. The problem is that used condoms and other items are being found all over the neighborhood. Also some prostitutes offer their services in front of a school. At night, they have sex in public and they use parks and gardens as toilets. That way, the sex is going on out of sight of the neighbors.
That way the prostitutes are supposed to be protected. In case a suitor tries to keep a sex worker from leaving through one of the doors, she can still use the other one. As long as the authorities know where it is going on, they can intervene when things get out of hand.
Berlin: Attacks on Lesbians and Gays on the Rise. But none of those partially very unconventional ideas convinced those who decide in the district. Making everybody completely happy is not possible here. But making sure the paid sex is happening out of sight of pedestrians and residents, including children, is an important step. Especially young women from villages in Bulgaria and other Eastern European countries are being forced into prostitution by brutal pimps.
In the past years, several court proceeding against Bulgarian pimps took place in Germany and Switzerland. But many believe those cases are just the tip of the iceberg. Only few women affected have the possibility or the courage to flee and to tell police about their ordeal.
While prostitution is legal in Germany, exploitation or forced prostitution are not. In Berlin, around prostitutes offer their services on streets, in apartments and brothels. But there is a problem here too: All sex workers are supposed to register, because prostitutes need to pay taxes like everyone else.
