On September 23, the German CDU-CSU parliamentary group was heard in the Bundestag. It defended the “end to the inhumane conditions of prostitution – punish the purchase of sexual services”: while sex work is legal in Germany since 2002, the CDU-CSU group is promoting the Nordic model and the criminalisation perspective.
ESWA reacted to this hearing: we highlighted the harms of client criminalisation regarding sex work and the fundamental human rights of sex workers, facing the criminalization of the purchase of sexual services. We set out 11 recommendations, including the need to take a critical look at current German legislation and punitive administrative laws, to fight against stereotypes and ever-increasing stigmatisation, and to include sex workers in political decision-making on issues that directly concern them.
