Are Brothel Owners Traffickers? A Perspective from Germany

• In Event: Perceptions about Human Trafficking: A Comparative Perspective

Abstract

In 2016, the German government decided to amend the Prostitution Law of 2002: while the former enlisted the help of brothel owners to create better working conditions for sex workers, the amendment seeks to prevent trafficking and to protect workers by putting brothel owners -- as well as sex workers -- under greater surveillance by the state. What prompted this move? Combining media analysis with ethnographic research I examine two law suits about mega sauna clubs charged with trafficking that have received broad media coverage and contributed to a public perception of rampant sex trafficking in Germany and the need for new legislation. Analyzing this news coverage and comparing it to the data gleaned from my own ethnographic research in similar brothels between 2008 and 2015, I show how the legal prosecution of these brothels followed public outcry over advertisement practices, rather than brothel owners’ reliance on and collaboration with criminal “third parties.” This raises questions about whether the new legislation is aimed at quelling public unease about legalized prostitution rather than about improving working conditions for sex workers.

Author

• Annegret D Staiger, Clarkson University