KOK e. KOK supports the nationwide helpline violence against women. KOK welcomes a liberal approach, since condemning prostitution and stigmatising sex workers has a negative impact on women in particular, especially those who willingly engage in the profession. KOK places special emphasis on highlighting the differences between prostitution and trafficking in women.
We respect sex workers who engage in their profession of their own free will. We do not stigmatise them, and our view has always been that voluntary prostitution should be recognised as a personal decision made by the individual in question. Making prostitution illegal would deny sexworkers their right to work and would disregards their self-determination and responsibility.
We would like to state clearly that not every sex worker, and not every migrated woman who works as a sex worker, is a victim of human trafficking. Trafficking in human beings only takes place in circumstances where a person is exploited, coerced, abused or otherwise forced to perform sexual or non-sexual work. It was in when the prostitution act entered into force, which regulated the legal rights of sex workers towards their costumers and put the provision of sexual services in the context of an employment relationship.
Aims of this law are to enhance the circumstances and legal position of people working in prostitution, as well as to combat crime, such as human trafficking, violence against and exploitation of sex workers and procuring. The law does not only include an obligatory registration and health consultations for sex workers, but also an obligatory license, including a reliability test, for brothel operators, as well as further regulations for prostitution.
These concerns were also voiced by KOK in its statement from June In , the German parliament resolved the law and it came into force on 1 st July This analysis of prostitution and female sex workers in Germany presents only the knowledge gained from many years of professional experience and the facts derived from scientific studies, including their complexities and discrepancies. Presented are the results of different surveys helping to provide a more objective and nuanced basis for discussion about prostitution.
