An article in the Stuttgarter Zeitung talked about how people raise awareness about sex work, human trafficking, and forced prostitution. The town, Leinfelden-Echterdingen, is near Stuttgart, and it has two brothels in its industrial areas.
Even though a well-known brothel was already closed down, the building is still being used as a brothel under a new name. This shows that the business has not gone away, it just changed names.
Ten local citizens against the world of prostitution
The article introduces ten local citizens who created a group to help others learn what goes on in the world of prostitution. They started their mission after hearing about a court case where a man who ran a brothel was sent to prison for helping with human trafficking and forcing women into prostitution.
The group was shocked to learn that most women in prostitution, according to them, 90 to 95 percent, don’t do it by choice. One woman, Regina, started a group in 2022 called the “Prostitution Working Group Leinfelden-Echterdingen.”
The group members wanted to help the community understand more about prostitution and find ways to make things better. They began meeting once a month at the town hall and included people from local clubs and political groups.
The group was also influenced by people from across Germany. Politician Leni Breymaier and former sex worker Sandra Norak talked about a system called the Nordic Model. This model doesn’t punish women in prostitution but instead punishes the people who pay for sex.
According to them, it also helps women leave the business. They explained that many brothels wouldn’t be able to stay open without human trafficking.
They held an exhibition as well
To help others understand the issue better, the group held an exhibition called “Faceless – Women in Prostitution.” The photos were taken by Hyp Yerlikaya and had already been shown in cities like Stuttgart and Esslingen.
The exhibition showed 40 posters where women talked about their fears, dreams, and what their lives are really like. There were also talks from people who work to stop human trafficking and police officers who had worked on the closed brothel case. A Swedish police officer also appeared as a special guest and explained how Sweden uses the Nordic Model to deal with prostitution.
The Nordic Model doesn’t offer a solution
As we already mentioned in our previous articles, the Nordic Model does have clear disadvantages in many aspects. On the other hand, it has many advantages.
It is good for the sex workers because the girls can work in a well-regulated legal environment, in safe and clean brothels where criminals are not involved.
They can build up their career and loyal client base. Read all of the reasons in this article about the benefits for the women: Top 10 reasons why the Nordic Model is bad for sex workers
The Nordic Model is also good for men. They can have sex for their money in safe brothels, just like buying other services in life.
They are not threatened by pimps, and in these places, privacy is one of the most important things. Read the details here: Top 10 reasons why the Nordic Prostitution Model is bad for men
This model is also good for society. The legal brothels pay a lot of taxes and contributions, they create many legal jobs, and the women also work legally and pay their taxes.
In the well-regulated and monitored industry, the sex workers should have medical checks regularly, therefore there is a lower chance of spreading sexually transmitted diseases. Read all of the reasons here: Top 10 reasons why the Nordic Prostitution Model is bad for society