Red card for the red light ID! Erotic masseuse Helena (26) from Wilmersdorf is one of more than 6,000 women in Berlin who do not register.

Since mid-2017, prostitutes have had to register and receive regular health advice. They receive an ID card with a photo, name and authority number.

But: Of the approximately 8,000 sex workers in Berlin, only about 1,700 are officially registered. More than 6,000 women work illegally, offering their services via Internet portals that are difficult to control, others on the streets.

One of them is Helena (26, name changed) from Wilmersdorf. Until 2017 she worked as an erotic masseuse in a Berlin red light salon.

“I could only have done that with ID, because the boss has to check all the women’s documents regularly,” says Helena. “So I stopped there and offered massages with a colleague in an apartment.”

Why is she working illegally without an ID? After all, there is a risk of a fine of up to 5000 euros!

“My partner thinks I only do medical massages in a practice,” says the 26-year-old. “If I register, I’m afraid of getting mail home from the tax office. If he opens it, everything will be exposed.”

And if she had the red-light ID that sex workers are supposed to have with them at all times, her boyfriend could find it in her purse.

Also read:

► The Prostitute Protection Act has failed

► Prostitutes show the red light card the red card!

Helena also reports on three colleagues who have also been working illegally without registration since 2017. One is a police officer and worried about her job because of the part-time job. Another is a single mother who feels stigmatized by the ID card and is concerned that the youth welfare office will cause problems for her…

There is also criticism of the red light ID in politics. “The Prostitute Protection Act with the obligation to provide ID does not help, the hurdles and the bureaucratic effort are too great,” says Maren Jasper-Winter, spokeswoman for women’s policy for the FDP.

She emphasizes: “The be-all and end-all must be discreet health and exit counseling services for sex workers.”