At least fifteen prostitutes have been murdered in Bavaria all within the last 20 years, as per the “Ella” network. This number was highlighted by a gynaecologist by the name Liane Bissinger. In addition to the fifteen prostitutes deceased, Liane said that there had been five homicide attempts and a missing individual.

Human trafficking, forced prostitution, and a lot of brutality are all part of the sex industry. “Prostitution generates dead people and orphans,” said Viktoria K. from the Wiesbaden prostitute network in the Bavarian state parliament. This is how we live every day. The reality of Bavarian prostitutes has nothing to do with “Pretty Woman” and escort service students.”

The current system always produces new victims

At the hearing of the social affairs committee, the formed Augsburg criminal chief Helmut Sporer mentioned numerous prostitutes who were victims of violence and human trafficking. He also added that these offenses were not punished as they should be. “The current system always produces new victims and that is irresponsible.”

Most women who work in prostitution in Germany live in poverty and experience violence, as Inge Bell from the Terre des Femmes organization says. She quotes from Elvira, a 19-year-old who was offered as a slab of meat to the clients. There is also a comment online from a customer “A country without brothels is like a house without a toilet.” “Women and girls in prostitution are seen as toilet bowls – dehumanized”, continues Inge Bell. She added “Several associations are calling for a ban on prostitution – one that punishes the clients and not the women whose services they perform.”

There are 40,000 sex workers in Germany, 14,000 in Bavaria

The politicians are debating about consequences for the 40,000 officially registered sex worker in Germany and roughly 14,000 in Bavaria and maybe stronger rules are the solution. Ruby Rebelde, a prostitute that is the head of the Hydra association, does not agree with this idea. She views “whore stigma” as a fundamental problem in Germany’s prejudice against prostitutes.

Bavarian politics are conservative, yet there are a few counselling clinics in Freistaat, and there are restricted zones everywhere, with police officers pretending to be clients. This is not how you build faith in the authorities, she said after the state legislature hearing, at a prostitution demonstration. “People in politics have not yet visited a brothel from the inside, yet they nevertheless make key judgments,” she continues.

“Through restrictions, we accomplish the reverse – Corona has taught us that,” says prostitute Johanna Weber, political spokesperson for the professional group for erotic and sexual services. Many people went underground during the pandemic’s prostitution prohibition, and counselling centres reported significantly more violence.