Last Wednesday, Germany's right-wing coalition government managed to pass a few updates through the door of the German Prostitution Act. One new addition to the law is the requirement for men to wear condoms when visiting prostitutes. Which I guess you could argue is a good thing β the only problem being that this kind of measure "is just as enforceable as a ban on peeing in a swimming pool," as the Left Party put it.
A welcome part of this law on the other hand, is that a regulatory license will now be required for opening new brothels and that operators will have to undergo a reliability check.
After all, you also have to go through these procedures when opening a snack bar or a pet shop. But who are we to judge? The way I see it, the only people who should have a say in this is those directly affected by the new law. I got in touch with a couple of prostitutes β one male and one female β and asked them a few questions. Actually that's not her name, her "friends" that "watch out" for her wouldn't like it if they knew she was chatting with someone from the press. But it was a cold night and customers were sparse so a short, paid break and a warm drink were welcome.
VICE: There's a new law that requires male customers to wear condoms. Would you press charges if a customer refused to do that? Melanie: No, that's bullshit. We don't just live off of tourists, we primarily make our living from regular customers. If you see that it's a nice, family man, who always comes back, is somehow a little infatuated and probably doesn't have any other affairs or girls, then you continue to do it without a condom.
You also get a bonus when not asking to wear a condom usually. You probably protect yourself from getting pregnant, but what about STIs? Of course, I take the pill. And I always try to arrange the sex so that he doesn't come in me.
