Zurich's Drive-In Prostitution Facility Is Officially Open for Business
Reuters
In 2012, residents of Zurich, Switzerland, voted to ban street solicitation in favor of what is essentially a drive-in prostitution warehouse in the suburbs. The idea is that sex workers who are picked up off the street often don't know where their clients are going to take them.Prostitution has been legal in Switzerland since 1942, but city officials say women are sometimes taken to isolated areas, where they have been robbed and abused.
By requiring that all sex-work activities—including selection, payment, and the activity itself—take place in a carefully controlled environment, officials hope to cut down on the amount of violence done to sex workers. The BBC explains:
There are trees, coloured lights, and benches to sit on, all designed to create an atmosphere which Michael Herzig of the Zurich social services says should not be too "sad".
But since all business must take place inside the compound, there are drive-in "sex boxes", and here the measures taken to protect the women are very apparent.
On the driver's side, the boxes are very narrow, making it difficult for him to get out of the car. On the passenger side, there is plenty of space, an alarm button and an emergency exit.
Meanwhile, just a few steps from the boxes, there is a set of Portakabins where counsellors are on hand, together with a kitchen, toilets and a shower.
A man examines a drive-in sex booth. Each car may contain only one client. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
A sign explaining the rules of a new sex drive-in is pictured during an open day, west of Zurich August 24, 2013. (REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann)
And it's not just sex worker safety Zurich officials are concerned about. "Zurich is a destination for sex, but the people of Zurich don't want to see it. The government had to do something," Regula Rother, a sex worker advocate, told the BBC.
Pushing sex work out of the city completely and requiring sex workers to buy daily occupational licenses suggests that the city is trying to discourage the industry as much as protect sex workers. While "no-one is really sure whether women or clients will turn up once the sex boxes are open for business," there's a pretty good chance Zurich's prostitution black market isn't going anywhere.
Reuters
In 2012, residents of Zurich, Switzerland, voted to ban street solicitation in favor of what is essentially a drive-in prostitution warehouse in the suburbs. The idea is that sex workers who are picked up off the street often don't know where their clients are going to take them.Prostitution has been legal in Switzerland since 1942, but city officials say women are sometimes taken to isolated areas, where they have been robbed and abused.
By requiring that all sex-work activities—including selection, payment, and the activity itself—take place in a carefully controlled environment, officials hope to cut down on the amount of violence done to sex workers. The BBC explains:
There are trees, coloured lights, and benches to sit on, all designed to create an atmosphere which Michael Herzig of the Zurich social services says should not be too "sad".
But since all business must take place inside the compound, there are drive-in "sex boxes", and here the measures taken to protect the women are very apparent.
On the driver's side, the boxes are very narrow, making it difficult for him to get out of the car. On the passenger side, there is plenty of space, an alarm button and an emergency exit.
Meanwhile, just a few steps from the boxes, there is a set of Portakabins where counsellors are on hand, together with a kitchen, toilets and a shower.
A man examines a drive-in sex booth. Each car may contain only one client. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
And it's not just sex worker safety Zurich officials are concerned about. "Zurich is a destination for sex, but the people of Zurich don't want to see it. The government had to do something," Regula Rother, a sex worker advocate, told the BBC.
Pushing sex work out of the city completely and requiring sex workers to buy daily occupational licenses suggests that the city is trying to discourage the industry as much as protect sex workers. While "no-one is really sure whether women or clients will turn up once the sex boxes are open for business," there's a pretty good chance Zurich's prostitution black market isn't going anywhere.
i hope thats car fluid on the concrete
