Bundestag President Julia Klöckner, of the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), recently implied that Germany had become the “brothel of Europe” — reigniting the national debate about sex work.
In a speech read out at an award ceremony on Tuesday, Klöckner criticized Germany’s current legislation, saying sex workers are not adequately protected. “I am firmly convinced that we must finally ban prostitution and the purchase of sex in this country,” the conservative Klöckner said.
Klöckner immediately received backing from Health Minister Nina Warken, also of the CDU. “Like other countries, Germany needs a criminal ban on the clients’ purchasing sex,” Warken told the Rheinische Post newspaper. “Prostitutes should be exempt from punishment and receive comprehensive assistance to leave the industry.”
Germany is the ‘brothel of Europe,’ Klöckner said, restarting a yearslong debateImage: Kay Nietfeld/dpa/picture alliance
Sex work in Germany
Sex work has not been officially considered “immoral” since the Prostitution Act came into force in 2002: It is now formally a legal service — meaning that sex workers have the right to be paid their agreed fee.
In 2017, the Prostitution Protection Act was passed with the stated intent of further improving the legal and social situation of sex workers — who must now register their activity with the authorities. Brothels must get a license to operate. Approval is only granted if minimum requirements for safety, hygiene, and equipment are met.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, there were about 32,300 registered sex workers in Germany at the end of 2024. Only 5,600 of them were German citizens. About 11,500 sex workers come from Romania; 3,400 of them are from Bulgaria.
Researchers assume that the number of unregistered sex workers ranges from 200,000 to 400,000 at the low end to up to 1 million.
Foreign women with poor German language skills are estimated to make up the vast majority of this group. Because they know very little about their rights, they have virtually no access to existing health and support services. The vast majority of these women are forced into prostitution — either because of poverty or because they are coerced by pimps.
Critics of the current legislation say the legalization of sex work has caused the market to explode in Germany: prices have fallen significantly as competition has increased. According to the annual “Federal Situation Reports on Human Trafficking,” published by the Federal Criminal Police Office, human trafficking and forced prostitution have increased. This has also attracted more clients who inflict sexual abuse.
Protesters in Dublin demonstrate for more rights for sex workers in 2018Image: Artur Widak/NurPhoto/picture alliance
The ‘Nordic model’
Klöckner and Warken have spoken out in favor of introducing what is known as the “Nordic model” — reigniting a yearslong debate in Germany.
Introduced in Sweden in 1999 and then in Norway in 2009, the Nordic model was later adopted by Iceland, Canada, France, Ireland and Israel, among other governments. The model prohibits the purchase of sexual services and their organized procurement — but not their direct sale. This means it criminalizes clients and pimps, and sex workers remain exempt from punishment.
The approach also offers sex workers comprehensive support and exit programs. Clients face fines and, in Sweden, even prison sentences of up to one year. Norway also prosecutes citizens for purchasing sexual services abroad.
Pros and cons
Many critics of the model say sex work is work and seek to strengthen sex workers’ rights so that they can pursue their work independently. They believe in combating forced prostitution by strengthening the rights of the people affected and work to destigmatize sex work
Such advocates for sex workers fear that criminalizing the purchase of sex will push sex workers deeper into illegal and less-protected realms — such as the digital space.
Sex trade is also booming on the internet where it can be more difficult to controlImage: Andreas Franke/picture alliance
Proponents of the model argue that most sex work already takes place in secret and therefore beyond the law. People should not be punished by the law for being forced into sex work, they say.
Decriminalization would make sex workers more likely to report clients to the police or the courts because they would then have an established right to protection and assistance. If people who pay for sex were made criminally liable, this would lead to an overall decline in sex work.
The number of known sex workers and clients has fallen significantly in countries that have introduced the Nordic model. A recent study by the University of Tübingen concludes that the model “also contributes to an objectively measurable reduction in the number of victims of human trafficking in the long term.”
Introducing such a law is not enough to improve the situation of forced prostitution, the advocacy group the Federal Association for the Nordic Model says.
According to the group, comprehensive assistance for people wanting to stop working in the sex trade must be financed and victims’ rights must be significantly strengthened.
The group also seeks funding for wide-ranging social support that would enable people affected to have their own apartments, psychological care and access to education. Funding for prevention is also important, as is consistently prosecuting pimping and human trafficking in order to reduce the forced prostitution market as a whole.
This article was originally published in German.
