5. Germany

5. Germany
§ In 2002 prostitution was decriminalized. Promotion of prostitution, pimping and brothels are legal.
§ The overwhelming majority of prostitutes are foreign and Germany is as one of the highest receivers of trafficked women for sexual exploitation.
§ In a report on the Prostitution Act produced by the Federal affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth in 2007, the Federal Government conceded that the policy had failed to achieve the desired goals and had no real impact on the prostitute’s social protection. The Report on the Prostitution Act summarized the Federal Government’s conclusions as follows: The Report of the Act Regulating the Legal Situation of Prostitutes (Prostitution Act) published by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth states that: German Federal Government to take a revisit the goals of the Prostitution Act and to see whether these goals have been fulfilled.
“The Federal Government believes that the Prostitution Act has only to a limited degree achieved the goals intended by the legislator.
§ Although it has been possible to create the legal framework to enable contracts of employment to be concluded that are subject to social insurance, few have as yet made use of this option. The Prostitution Act has thus up until now also not been able to make actual, measurable improvements to prostitutes’ social protection.
§ As regards improving prostitutes’ working conditions, hardly any measurable, positive impact has been observed in practice. At most there are first, tentative signs which point in this direction. It is especially in this area that no short-term improvements that could benefit the prostitutes themselves are to be expected.
§ The Prostitution Act has not recognisably improved the prostitutes’ means for leaving prostitution.
§ There are as yet no viable indications that the Prostitution Act has reduced crime. The
§ Prostitution Act has as yet contributed only very little in terms of improving transparency in the world of prostitution. On the other hand, the fears that were partly linked to the Prostitution Act have not proved true, in particular in the area of fighting crime. The Prostitution Act has not made it more difficult to prosecute trafficking in human beings, forced prostitution and other prostitution-related violence.”
§ On account of the decriminalization of prostitution, police are no longer able to monitor the ‘scene’ or enter brothels as in the past to try to uncover trafficked or otherwise abused victims.