Around the turn of the century, the German political classes sought to better protect women generally, and prostitutes in particular. Over twenty years later, however, it is clear they have failed to achieve their objective.
At the time, the red-green government wanted to use the prostitution law to regulate the legal position of prostitution as a service, so improving the lives of prostitutes in Germany. Although the law appears at first glance to be a worthy solution to a concrete problem, however, the issue is actually about a great deal more than just politics and legislation.
Essentially, the prostitution debate always revolves around certain questions. Should I be allowed to enjoy pleasure when this is at the cost of others? Should I be allowed to spend money on sex?
How exactly should the limits of liberty be defined, and who is responsible for enforcing these limits β the state, the individual, or both? The German Prostitution Law of is counter to the Swedish ban on buying sex , which has been in place since This alone is interesting, because in European public opinion, Sweden is generally viewed as playing a ground-breaking social-liberal role, which is reflected in strong democratic standards, high levels of liberty in a wide range of fields of life, and an extremely solid social system.
Clients seeking to buy sex from prostitutes in Sweden have been punished for over two decades now, while in Germany and other European countries such as Italy and Spain, prostitution is extensively or completely legal, and hardly regulated at all.
