The Coronavirus has done a great deal of damage to the economy worldwide and this affected the paysex scene as well. It all started going downhill since the restrictions came into effect in November 2020. Austrian and German brothels and brothels, clubs and bars have closed their doors.
The only form of prostitution that remained legal is the escort service model. Girls can visit their clients vith a negative Covid-19 test, although no one can visit the ladies in apartments or other establishments. Of course, many prostitutes had no other option but to try their luck in illegality during these hard times.
Since there is no brothel to work at, the number of illegal apartments offering sexual services is constantly on the rise in Vienna and Graz.
Ladies and Apartment Owners are Currently in the Same Boat
The pandemic has put both prostitutes and apartment owners in a difficult situation. Brothels, FKKs and Laufhauses are closed and tourism is almost non-existent. If your combine the two, you get a plenty of prostitutes that want to work in an apartment and many owners who are willing to hand them over.
Only in Graz, there are currently at least 200 apartments where these ladies offer their services. They usually switch apartments every couple of weeks. Many of these prostitutes are ran by pimps who often have more than one lady working under their hands.
Although tourism is dead, there is still a huge demand for prostitution. If people can’t get it in a legal way, they are going to choose illegal prostitution instead. It is pretty much a no-brainer despite the fact that prostitution in illegal apartments poses health risks and the ladies working there are also more exposed to violence.
As a result, the number of police raids is also on the rise, as they are trying hard to put a stop to this. Illegal apartments are constantly getting shut down by them in Vienna and its surroundings.
Women Doing their Best to Check their Clients
There is basically no safety guaranteed for women who are ran by pimps or are self-employed prostitutes. Since they work in illegal apartments, they had to figure out a way to check their clients before they arrive. A great way to do this is to initiate a video chat with the client before giving them the address of the apartment.
Of course, this does not guarantee anything, but it is still better than nothing. Illegal work is risky and they want to do their best to keep their occupation a secret. In a decent brothel, these women would be protected by the law and by the staff working there as well.
There are No Health Check or Green Cards in Illegal Prostitution
Ideally, ladies that offer sexual services would need to go through regular health checks to ensure they do not pose any health risk. Since working in illegal apartments is illegal by all means, there are no such health checks. This only increases the chance of STDs being transmitted among the ladies and their clients.
Covid-19 is another concern in this regard, as many of them do not follow the current hygiene laws. This can make illegal apartments potential hotbeds when it comes to spreading the virus. Women who work illegally also do not pay any taxes, which makes them an even more pressing issue for the government.
The Police Imposes Fines on the Ladies Who get Caught
During police raids, not only that these apartments get shut down but the ladies and owners also get fined. The fine imposed can be between 400 and 1000 Euros. This doesn’t concern the clients if they complied to the current Covid-19 regulations, as they can get away without any obligation to pay in that case.
For those who are interested in the current situation in Graz, here is the German news article on the subject posted by Kronen Zeitung.
Illegal Apartments in Vienna Raided by the Police
Raids by the Viennese Police Department started on March 1st and ended on March 7th. Their aim was to shut down as many illegal apartments as they can. At that point, there were a total of 171 reports about advertisements ran by prostitutes.
As the result of these raids, many apartment owners and 39 women were fined. The age of the ladies working in illegal apartments ranged from 19 to 38 and they were mainly Romanian. The fines imposed on them by the police make up a total of 30,000 Euros.
You can read about the raids that happened between March 1st and 7th in this article by Kleine Zeitung.
Summary
Although Graz and Vienna are the two main spots for illegal prostitution, it is happening all over the country. There is a demand that has to be satisfied and many women that have no other chance but to work illegally.
Meanwhile, the police are struggling to put an end to illegal prostitution since there are so many illegal apartments to deal with. It became an issue that is hard to deal with. One solution would be to open up brothels and other establishments in the paysex scene.
Opening them would also mean regular health checks, safety for the ladies, paid taxes and testing for Covid-19.
Source: Increase in number of illegal apartments in Vienna and Graz