Prostitution flourishes along Langstrasse
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Prostitutes negotiate with a client on Langstrasse.
Robin Bäni (text) and Thomas Meier (photos)
He wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her to him. She whispers something in his ear. He shakes his head. She crosses her arms. He lowers his hand, slaps her bottom twice, lets go and walks away.
Many watched the scene. But nobody reacts. This is common here. Next door, in the light of neon signs and street lamps, drunks are partying. They turn their backs on the women in high heels. Until they want sex themselves.
Yes, that’s how you know it, the Langstrasse. Sometimes with, sometimes without crowds. But it’s always: “Hey baby, do you want to?”, “Come on darling!” Or it is simply whistled. The pickup line is part of the background noise.
The sex trade is an integral part of Langstrasse. However, this is in stark contrast to municipal legislation – because actually you are not allowed to buy here.
No “aftermath” on the Sihlquai
The concept with which the city of Zurich wanted to curb street prostitution also includes sex boxes, which were created in Altstetten in 2013. With them they wanted to abolish the unbridled street prostitution on Sihlquai, a few hundred meters further in the direction of the Limmat – and improve the safety of sex workers.
Both were successful, says Nadeen Schuster, spokeswoman for the department of social facilities and businesses in the city of Zurich. Schuster added: “There were no after-effects on the Sihlquai, nor was there any relocation.”
No relocation? Officially, the city of Zurich has three striped zones: in Niederdorf, on Allmendstrasse and on Depotweg, where the sex boxes are located. There, clients are allowed to pay for street prostitution at set times. All within the law.
Only: the Langstrasse does not belong to these zones. Nevertheless, there is the corresponding service at any time of the day. Officially, sex workers are allowed to work in contact bars, single salons or brothels. But if they do it on the street, the police can impose a fine. The Langstrasse in theory: purchases in buildings yes, on the street no. The Langstrasse in practice: buy anytime, anywhere.
Street prostitution zones in the city of Zurich.
Solidara demands the official street prostitution zone
The urban strategy is unrealistic, says Beatrice Bänninger, Managing Director of the Solidara Zurich advice center: “Langstrasse is a connection between going out and eroticism. The men don’t go from Langstrasse to Altstetten and back again.” The sex trade cannot be isolated from society: “It doesn’t work, you can see that. It doesn’t work on Allmendstrasse, it works to a limited extent in Altstetten, but not to the desired extent. Relocating all street prostitution didn’t work.”
Solidara calls for sections of Langstrasse to be transformed into an official street zone in order to decriminalize sex workers – and to relieve the city police: “They don’t have the resources à gogo either,” says Bänninger. In addition, she finds it “not right to fill the state coffers with fines from controls”.
The police confirm that the complete implementation of the ban is almost impossible – which is why a strategy of “neighborhood compatibility” was chosen: “When street prostitution overflows, the police increase the repressive reporting activity,” says Marc Surber, spokesman for the Zurich city police.
Police are flying blind
For “purchasing in an illegal zone”, the city judge’s office generally levies a fine of CHF 200, plus processing fees of CHF 250. With 491 violations in 2018, that would be a mathematical amount of 220,950 francs. However, fines may be higher due to criminal records. And there are neither more recent figures nor does the city judge’s office keep statistics.
The city police are also flying blind, so to speak. They cannot provide any information on the number of sex workers on Langstrasse. The officials run a “milieu database”. However, this only records sex workers who have reported themselves or who have been checked. There is also a lot of coming and going. “It is therefore to be assumed that the number is unreported,” admits police spokesman Surber.
Not everyone agrees with fewer police operations. The concept of decriminalization is also controversial: pimps and clients would benefit from an official street prostitution zone, but the basic problem remains: sex workers would continue to be exploited. A prominent opponent of liberalization is the Bernese EPP National Councilor Marianne Streiff-Feller: “I would support the Swedish model. It is not the women who are criminalized, but the clients. At the same time, the purchase of sex is prohibited.”
Streiff does not believe that prostitution will drift underground as a result of this paradigm shift. “If the clients find the prostitutes, the police will find them too.”
Decision makers look the other way
Sweden model or decriminalization – those aimed at curbing proliferation go in opposite directions. But both camps see the line on Langstrasse as an unsolved problem.
In 2015, the municipal council of the city of Zurich debated the approval of a no-street zone on individual sections of Langstrasse. The postulate was then rejected with 58 to 61 abstentions. The head of the police department also rejected the postulate – on behalf of the city council. Nothing has happened since then. The street prostitute has Langstrasse firmly under control. The police occasionally collect fines. And the decision-makers look the other way.
Just like the party-goers when another woman with a suitor disappears into the darkness.