Reasons against a prostitution ban in Vienna

Prostitution in Vienna is legal but regulated. There are many adult entertainment establishments in the city and a large number of women working in the sex business. The women and the business owners pay taxes, the sex workers receive various benefits for working in legally operated establishments and the clients have a nice selection of places and women to choose from.

Although the system has its flaws, it is currently working for everybody. However, there are some people who think that a ban on prostitution would make things better. We disagree, and in this Sex in Vienna blog post we will explain exactly why we think this. For further details about why a prostitution ban would make things worse, keep on reading now!

Since the pandemic started many countries have put harsh regulations on sex work. Brothels and other adult entertainment venues had to close down and the ladies suddenly lost their job. The women weren’t allowed to work legally, but this has not stopped them from continuing to offer their services, but now through illegal means.

The police forces have been raiding illegal apartments and other types of businesses ever since the new laws have been introduced.

Read the following post from our blog for more details about these raids on illegal apartments: Raids continue on illegal prostitution in Vienna

It is most logical to think that the same outcome would happen in case prostitution was banned altogether.

Making it illegal would not stop women from offering their services; they would just have to do it illegally.

Many people think that introducing this Nordic prostitution model into Austria would make things better.

Basically there would be a ban on buying sex. This means that only the suitors and business owners would be fined and not the sex workers.

This model comes from Sweden who has been using it since 1999.

Since then, a few other European countries have adopted this model, such as Iceland, France, Norway and others.

Although this would definitely lessen the prostitution industry as a whole, it would also increase prostitution from apartments, which is already a huge problem in Austria.

For more details about the Nordic prostitution model, take a look at this Wikipedia page now!

In the following section we will list a couple of reasons why we think a ban on prostitution would make things worse. Naturally, this is just our opinion on the subject and you should do further research into it if you’re interested.

Prostitutes would not get any help or protection

Currently, women who work in the prostitution business legally get help from the government or the business that they work at.

Working in a legally operated sex club or brothel comes with the perks of having access to various things, such as on-site protection, help from the authorities if necessary, a steady income and other benefits.

For example, the women can only work legally in such establishments if they attend regular health checks and have their green health cards. Also, there are cameras on site for security reasons, etc.

If working in legal sex clubs was banned, the women would lose a lot in terms of perks and safety; not just their workplace.

Sex workers would be in a lot more danger

If there was a ban on prostitution, the women who wanted to continue working illegally would now have to fear their clients and the authorities too.

Since they have no one to turn to, the clients could theoretically do whatever they wanted. Additionally, if everything were to be illegal, human traffickers would also have a much easier time exploiting the ladies.

Forced prostitution would definitely be on the rise, as the women couldn’t ask the authorities for help. Working from illegally operated apartments was on the rise during the lockdown as well, and this is one of the most common ways human traffickers force women into prostitution.

Police forces were constantly raiding these types of places and they would undoubtedly have to do the same in case there was a prostitution ban in Austria.

Many jobs would be lost in case of a prostitution ban

Naturally, the women would lose their jobs if prostitution was illegal. However, there are many other occupations in a brothel, sex club or bar.

Bartenders, security personnel, receptionists, cleaning crew, management and other types of staff would lose their jobs. This would mean thousands of people left without a job in Vienna alone.

There are many people who agree with us that a ban on prostitution is a bad idea that would probably result in more negative outcomes than positive ones. Forcing women into a criminalized situation if they want to offer their services would not be beneficial for anybody. It is only natural that we need to combat forced prostitution in some way, but it shouldn’t be at the cost of women who voluntarily want to make money with their bodies.

Of course, this is just our opinion on the subject. If you have anything to add to this topic, or you have a completely different opinion, be sure to let us know on the SV Forum. We have created a separate thread for this topic, so if you wish to discuss it or read what others had to say, be sure to click on the following link: Reasons against a prostitution ban in Vienna