Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2001.
Labor Rights in Pipeline For German Sex Workers
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2001/10/23/253.html
Combined Reports BERLIN -- Germany has passed a
landmark bill to boost the low legal standing of
prostitutes and give sex workers the right to
unemployment benefit, retraining, health insurance and
a pension.
Sex workers will be legally entitled to turn away
customers, refuse to perform certain sex acts and take
disputes with clients over payment to court under the
bill passed by the Bundestag lower house of parliament
on Friday.
"Prostitutes' services are used around 1.2 million
times a day. Prostitution may be seen as immoral --
but it is clearly in big demand," said Christine
Bergmann, minister for family, seniors, women and
young people, in a statement.
Prostitution is not illegal in Germany, and sex
workers pay tax on their earnings, but sexual services
were previously described as "immoral" in the German
legal code.
The bill, which still needs the approval of the upper
house of parliament, or Bundesrat, means prostitution
can no longer be described as "immoral," and sex
workers can sue if they feel mistreated -- though
customers have no right to compensation for "poor
performance," the minister said.
Conservative opposition politicians were unconvinced.
Selling one's body remains "morally questionable,"
said Maria Eichhorn, a Christian Democrat lawmaker,
arguing also that the law was unclear and would do
little to improve the situation for prostitutes.
Andrea Petsch, a spokeswoman for the sex-worker lobby
group Hydra, said the new plans were a good start.
"It's a step in the right direction. We still need
some kind of work permit for immigrant prostitutes,
who make up nearly half of the 400,000 prostitutes in
Germany," she said.
"We welcome that prostitution is no longer listed as
immoral, that prostitutes can sue over pay and qualify
for social insurance. Long-term it might change
people's views. But that will take a very long time,"
Petsch said.
Germany has a liberal attitude to sexual mores.
Red-light districts in areas such as the Reeperbahn in
Hamburg and other German cities are tolerated by local
authorities, although there was little legal
protection for the sex workers themselves.
"We've had a double morality about prostitution for
decades. This law means prostitutes get better social
and legal protection. Longer term, they have better
chances to get out of the profession," Bergmann said.
"The law is a successful balance: The legal
discrimination against prostitutes is lifted, but
clients and brothel-owners do not have a better legal
position."
The bill was introduced by the ruling Social Democrats
and their Green coalition allies. In the vote, it was
also backed by the liberal FDP and the ex-communist
PDS, and was opposed only by the conservative
opposition.
"The law allows for real contracts with brothel
owners, which contain the usual duties for employers.
This closes the door on exploitation," commentator
Dagmar Borchert wrote on the women's issues portal of
the Meome web site.
While the law gives prostitution many of the rights of
regular employment, the government insisted it was not
elevating prostitution to the status of a "normal"
job.
(Reuters, AP)
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