German brothels battle a backlash over flat-rate offers | The Australian
A POLICE blitz on red-light establishments could spell the end of a pioneering attempt by German brothel owners to fight the economic downturn with special offers.
Customers were sent scurrying for cover on Sunday when 400 police raided four establishments that have started to offer flat-rate services, based on all-you-can-eat evenings run by restaurants. At the Berlin Pussy Bar, clients were offered sex with as many of the in-house prostitutes as they wanted for E70 ($120).
"So far our investigations are directed only against the owners of these establishments," a police spokesman in Berlin said. "The working women and the clients are being considered only as witnesses."
The raids are due to continue, however, because the flat-rate principle has been catching on in the market-sensitive business.
Prostitution is legal in Germany and, according to the Verdi service sector union, approximately 400,000 officially registered -- and taxpaying -- sex workers account for up to E14 billion of turnover annually. That is about twice the figure recorded by registered self-employed electricians, yet electricians are among the many beneficiaries of state support.
Turnover in brothels has dropped by an estimated 30 per cent since the economic crisis began last year.
Brothel owners have offered rebates for pensioners, the unemployed and those on welfare. Some have offered discounts to taxi drivers and rubbish collectors on the 15th of the month, which is close to pay day.
One Berlin brothel tried to brand itself as environmentally friendly by offering a 10 per cent discount to customers using public transport or bikes and some have started to provide free drinks -- overpriced alcohol is one of the big earners in brothels. In Hamburg, men who stay overnight have their shoes polished and clothes pressed as part of the service.
All to little avail. "The clients are holding on to their money," said Sabine Skutella, a counsellor at Mimikry, a prostitutes' advice centre in Munich. Patricia Floreiu, the manager of the Pussy Bar, said her club paid between E100 and E300 a day to its prostitutes. The sum is guaranteed even if there are no customers.
That is why the industry has homed in on the flat-rate idea, aimed at increasing the volume of business sharply. But it has caused a debate that has drawn in politicians, bishops and newspaper editors. Open letters have been sent to Chancellor Angela Merkel demanding that she should ban the flat rate.
In 2002 a law scrapped the idea that a prostitute was engaging in an immoral trade, giving her legal protection but making her liable to tax. Brothels offered contracts to their prostitutes, making them self-employed subcontractors.
For conservative politicians, sex sold for a flat rate is a step too far.
"This is an outrageous violation of human dignity," said Heribert Rech, the region's interior minister, who ordered raids in the clubs of Baden-Wurttemberg, particularly in Stuttgart.
The Times
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