A great deal of the paysex scene became illegal in Austria during the Coronavirus, only allowing escort services to function. Because of this, plenty of women started working at illegal apartments as a last resort. According to the article published by Sex Vienna, the Viennese Police Department responded by carrying out raids from March 1st to March 7th.
They have found out about 171 advertisements, which then led them to a total of 30 illegal apartments. All these apartments got shot down during that week. Fines were imposed not only on the women working there but also on the landlords who rented out their apartments.
The sum total of fines they need to pay is 30,000 Euros. Daniel Fürst, spokesman for the Police Department reported that they have found and fined 39 illegal prostitutes. Women that offered sexual services were mostly Romanians ranging from 19 to 38 years old.
Opening Up Brothels can Potentially Fix the Situation
It is now obvious that things have become wild since brothels, clubs and bars got closed. Many women had no other choice but to turn toward illegal means when it comes to making money in the paysex scene. The number of illegal apartments has skyrocketed, which inevitably led to the abovementioned police raids.
The abovementioned article on Sex Vienna has drawn attention to one of the potential solutions. This problem would probably be fixed by re-opening brothels and offering Covid tests to the ladies working there. They would not only have a legal place to work at but it will be also safer for them to do so.
Working at a legal brothel also means there will be regular health checks and paid taxes as well. Although ladies could work as escorts by visiting clients and showing a negative Covid test, not every one of them has an established clientele.
It is much easier for them to find a cheap apartment and let clients visit them than to work as an escort girl from scratch. Many brothel owners are ready to open up their brothels in accordance with the current regulations and they have spoken up in this regard.
Alexander Holzer, owner of the reputed saunaclub Goldentime has also spoken up about the subject. He stated that health checks and Covid tests would be mandatory in the hiring process.