Prostitution in Switzerland is legal and regulated; it has been legal since 1942. Trafficking, forcing people into prostitution and most forms of pimping are illegal.[1] Licensedbrothels, typically with a reception and leading to severalstudio apartments, are available. One estimate puts the number of street sex workers in Zurich at 5,000.[1]
UNAIDS estimate there to be 20,000 prostitutes in the country.[2] The majority are foreigners from the Americas,Central Europe or theFar East. In recent years the number of full service sex workers has increased. Many workers operate using newspaper advertisements,mobile phones and secondary rented apartments, some acceptcredit cards.
InSwitzerland,prostitution has been legal since 1942.[3]
In 1992, the sexual criminal law was revised, since thenpimping and passivesoliciting are no longer punishable.[3]
The Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons between Switzerland and the EU of 21 June 1999, which was extended toRomania andBulgaria in 2009, resulted in an increase in the number of prostitutes in the country.[3][4]
In 2013, "sex boxes" were erected in theAltstetten district ofZurich (such as Strichplatz Depotweg) and one street wherestreet prostitution was allowed was closed.[5] In the same year, street prostitutes in Zurich had to buy nightly permits from a vending machine installed in the area at a cost of 5 francs.[6]
In January 2014, it was publicly announced that inmates of La Pâquerette, a social therapy department for prisoners, were allowed to visit prostitutes in the Champ-Dollondetention center near Geneva, accompanied by social therapists.[7][8]
As well as Federal law, individualCantons may also make additional provisions in the form of legislation or regulations.[3]
Street prostitution is illegal, except in specially designated areas in the major cities.
Article 182 of the Swiss Criminal Code is designed to combathuman trafficking,[3] Article 195 limits the power pimps can have over prostitutes.[3] Swiss prostitutes are self-employed: regular employment requirements such as when and where to work would make the employer likely to be in breach of article 195.[3]
It is legal to advertise for "massages" inSwiss tabloid newspapers.
Swiss sex workers are subject to taxation and social insurance contributions.[3]
Foreigners sex worker from theEuropean Union can obtain permission to work for 90 days as a prostitute[3] if they present themselves to the city authorities, undergo a police interview, and provide proof of ahealth insurance plan.
Full service sex work is only legal if the seller is over 18 years of age, and it is a criminal act to pay for sex with anyone who is under 18 years old.[3] This age was raised from 16 (the country's age of sexual consent) in 2013 to bring the country in line with aCouncil of Europe treaty signed in 2010. The maximum sentence for those who pay for sex with 16-year-old or 17-year-old prostitutes is three years in prison. The maximum sentence for pimping anyone under 18 is ten years in prison.[9][10] (see Article 195 of the Criminal Code of Switzerland[11]).
As part of the measures to combat theCOVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland, prostitution was temporarily banned by theFederal Council under Chapter 3, article 6 of the Ordinance on Measures to Combat the Coronavirus (COVID-19).[12] On 24 March a Thai woman was arrested inRheineck for not closing her establishment and was subsequently fined 1,500Swiss francs.[13]
The local authorities in Zurich installed carport-like constructions calledVerrichtungsboxen or 'sex boxes' to protect street based sex workers.[14] In 2012,voters approved the creation of "sex boxes" in Zurich to control suburban sex work. These were described as a "success" by local authorities after a year.[15] The measure has been criticised by several organisations as restrictive.[16]
There arered-light districts in most of the major Swiss cities:Zurich (Langstrasse);[17]Bern (Lorraine);[18]Geneva (Les Pâquis, Pâquis’ four sex centres - the only places in Geneva where the women sit behind windows);[19]Lausanne (Sevelin);[20]Basel (Kleinbasel)[21] andLugano (Loreto).[22]
Switzerland is primarily a destination and, to a lesser extent, a transit country for women, children, and transgender people subjected tosex trafficking. Foreign trafficking victims originate primarily from Central andEastern Europe—particularlyRomania,Hungary, andBulgaria, with increasing numbers fromNigeria andThailand. Victims also come fromChina,Brazil,Cameroon, and theDominican Republic. The number of victims among asylum-seekers continues to grow. Female victims among asylum-seekers came from Nigeria,Eritrea, andEthiopia, and were oftenforced into prostitution. Male victims among asylum-seekers came primarily from Eritrea andAfghanistan and were exploited in prostitution.[23]
TheUnited States Department of StateOffice to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons ranks Switzerland as a 'Tier 2' country in 2021.[23]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.