Politics is letting prostitutes down

exit support for sex workers

Politics is letting prostitutes down

Many prostitutes suffer. But they can’t quit their jobs. Also because politicians see no need. And that has to change, says Sunday Blick editor Rebecca Wyss.

Rebecca WyssEditor society / magazine

Prostitution is a dirty business. The conditions of coercion and violence have been a topic in the media for years. You know. But little changes. Perhaps because so many – around 350,000 – Swiss men go to a prostitute at least once a year. Or because it doesn’t concern one’s own daughter, but a woman from far away. But maybe also: The topic, the high price that women pay – it hurts to deal with it. Study results like those from the University of Zurich in 2009 are painful: every fifth prostitute experiences a rape. Many have trouble sleeping, anxiety attacks, depression. The result: Many women want to get out of the sex trade – and cannot. That’s what you find out when you talk to a former woman like Carla (50), like we did for the Sunday Blick magazine. There are hardly any exit aids. Except thanks to a few Christian NGOs, who become active out of charity and with tight budgets because they no longer want to just watch the misery. The politic? look away

Most recently in June, when the National Council discussed the introduction of the “Nordic model”. A chance for a system change. Like in Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Ireland, Canada or France, where clients and pimps are punished and prostitutes are decriminalized. This includes a network of exit assistance and educational campaigns. In Sweden, this has reduced prostitution by half. There is no need in Switzerland, and the National Council rejected the motion. And that should keep us busy – finally.