In the last 25 years, at least 119 women have died violently in German prostitution. [1] The state is complicit in this, as risks to the life and limb of prostitutes are accepted, despite the duty to protect fundamental rights in prostitution. [2] Our conclusion after 22 years of liberal legislation is: prostitution destroys women and produces victims of violence!

Sexual acts for payment are the complete opposite of consensual and equal sexuality. This is also confirmed by the report of the UN Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem. [3] Any consent to prostitution is invalid in principle, as it affects general inalienable human rights. [4] This is about commercialised systematic rape that is tolerated or even legalised by the state. Systematic rape, like any form of inhuman or degrading treatment and torture, is prohibited without exception.

German law, however, defines prostitution as a sexual service and prostitutes as persons who provide it. [5] Although prostitutes cannot refuse or revoke their consent without negative consequences, no coercion is recognised. Here, commercialised rape has been renamed a taxable service. Cruel and degrading treatment is legalised and advertised, even with female slaves. [6] Rape centres were subsidised, because that is exactly what the countless brothels in the middle of German cities are. [7] But prostitutes were obliged by the courts to pay high fees because clients were dissatisfied with the ‘service’. [8] Germany has become a pimping state and profits from the blood money from prostitution.

Buying sex is normalised: There are reports of ‘14-year-olds prostituting themselves of their own free will’ [9] or murders of prostitutes who were ‘downright tortured to death’ [10] - without serious political consequences. The demand is enormous: around 27% of men have already paid for sex, in the age group of 46 to 55-year-olds it is as high as 33.5%, i.e. one in three. The respondents reported that ‘most of their paid sex was vaginal intercourse in domestic brothels’. [11] Sex tourism to Germany is also booming, which has earned the Federal Republic the inglorious title of ‘Germany - Brothel of Europe’. We see that state sanctions against prostitutes have been legitimised. That brothels, pimps and even human traffickers received state aid. [12] That the police and judiciary are powerless. [13] The ubiquitous trivialisation of sex trafficking defies all reality and increases the number of victims of sexual exploitation.

The current law accepts that German prostitution will result in more victims of violence. What has been happening here since 2002 must be described as a permanent breach of the constitution. Sexual pleasure cannot justify people having to suffer or die for it! Germany needs legislation on prostitution that is in line with the Women's Rights Convention and the Istanbul Convention. [14] It concerns us all:

Germany must exit - finally exit the system of prostitution!

[1] Women's Department Wiesbaden: Kommunale Strategien zur Prostitution, 2024, pp. 3-4.
[2] Mack, Rommelfanger: Sexkauf. Eine rechtliche und rechtsethische Untersuchung der Prostitution, 2023, p. 187.
[3] Alsalem: Prostitution and violence against women and girls, Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences, 2024.
[4] United Nations: Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others, 1949.
[5] Prostitutes Protection Act, § 2, 2017.
[6] Sklavinnenstudio Abenteuerland Subkultur, Sprockhövel, since 2022.
[7] König: Keine Corona-Hilfen für zwielichtige Bordelle, 02.12.2020, in CDA.
[8] Mau: The state as pimp, 26/02/2020, in Kontext Wochenzeitung.
[9] Wuppertal: Voluntarily into prostitution at 14?, 20/11/2023, in WDR.
[10] Murder in Koblenz: Prostitute cruelly killed, 30/11/2023, in SWR.
[11] Statista: Around a quarter of men have already paid for sex, 11/11/2022.
[12] Seven brothels with forced prostitutes: ‘In fact, she is said to have been the boss of a call girl ring with forced prostitutes - and to have received 7500 euros in Corona bridging aid!’, 03/01/2022, in BZ.
[13] Sporer: ‘The Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony comes to the conclusion [...] that at least 90% of human trafficking offences remain in the dark and 83% of the investigations had to be closed.’, 12 May 2022, in Protocol of the hearing ‘Situation of prostitutes in Bavaria’, p. 34.
[14] German Bundestag: Initiatives for the protection of women and children against violence adopted, 31 January 2025.