Prostitution in restricted areas to be decriminalized
Prostitution is legal in Germany as long as there is no coercion and no violation of a restricted area ordinance. According to a key issues paper, the latter could soon only be an administrative offense. As part of the law reform, fare dodging is also to be decriminalized.
Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann does not believe in a ban on buying sex, as has been introduced in Sweden, France and some other European countries. When asked whether he was in favor of punishing clients, he replied: "I think the most important thing is that any use of coercion against women must be prevented, including by means of criminal law. There are instruments for this in Germany that must also be applied. This should be the focus.
Part of a planned reform of the penal code is the deletion of a provision on prostitution in restricted areas. The relevant paragraph reads: "Anyone who persistently violates a prohibition issued by statutory order to engage in prostitution in certain places at all or at certain times of day shall be punished with imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of up to one hundred and eighty daily rates."
If Buschmann's plan were to be implemented as currently planned, the violation of restricted area ordinances could still be punished as an administrative offense. However, it would then no longer be a criminal offense.
"It is clear that such restricted area orders can still be issued," said Buschmann. He explained: "If we imagine that there are also areas in municipalities that, if you like, form the good parlor - or that there are areas such as schools or kindergartens - it makes sense that this order can be used in an emergency."
Prostitutes Protection Act since 2017
Since 2002, prostitution has no longer been immoral in Germany and is considered a normal trade. The red-green coalition at the time wanted to improve the legal and social situation of prostitutes with the Prostitution Act. However, many experts believe that the opposite has happened. Instead of protecting the victims, the position of brothel operators, the sex industry and clients was strengthened. In 2017, the Prostitutes Protection Act was introduced. Above all, it sets out trade law requirements: Brothels have since needed an operating license, and prostitutes are obliged to register their activities and attend health consultations.
At the end of November, Buschmann presented key points for the planned reform of the penal code, which is also intended to decriminalize fare evasion. According to him, a concrete draft can probably be expected in the first half of 2024.
"For many years, we had only one direction in criminal law policy: faster, higher, further," says the Minister of Justice. The question of which old laws were still necessary was never asked. The reform is now about "either deleting or revising many old, outdated regulations from the Criminal Code".
CSU politician criticized: Germany is a "brothel of Europe"
In September, the European Parliament passed a resolution in which the so-called Nordic model is assessed positively: in it, clients have to fear punishment, but prostitutes do not. The resolution criticizes the differing legislation on these issues in the member states of the European Union, as this encourages human trafficking.
In Germany, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, among others, has backed this proposal. "The deletion reduces the protection of young people and the general public from harassment intended by the provision, while at the same time the women concerned are further sanctioned by the law on administrative offences," criticized Andrea Lindholz, deputy chairwoman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. The CSU politician believes that a consistent ban on buying sex would be better. "Germany has become the brothel of Europe, women are exploited under the most adverse conditions." Human trafficking and forced prostitution have reached new dimensions. Organized crime dominates the scene. The German state must not tolerate this.
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Marco Buschmann, as the Federal Minister of Justice, is proposing to decriminalize the violation of restricted area ordinances in the context of prostitution, moving it from a criminal offense to an administrative one within the planned penal code reform in the EU Parliament. Despite opposing a client ban implemented in some European countries, Buschmann emphasizes the importance of preventing coercion against women.
Source: www.ntv.de
