A woman from Rodgau, who comes from Thailand, is accused of running an illegal brothel and forcing women and transsexual people to work without pay. She is now on trial in Darmstadt, Germany.
Police say that for years, the woman made money by bringing people from Thailand to Germany and forcing them to offer sexual services to paying men. The workers were not allowed to keep any of the money.
A victim told all of the details
One victim told the court that when she was 21, someone in Thailand asked if she wanted to work in Germany. She was told it was prostitution, but thought she would get paid. She hoped to pay for her studies and help her family. She also knew she would have to cover her travel and advertising costs.
But when she arrived in Germany, she was told that she owed €18,000. She worked in the brothel for four weeks but never got any money. In April 2018, police raided the building and rescued her.
The brothel owner told her that half of her earnings went to pay debts, and the other half was for food and a place to sleep — even though that place was the room where she was forced to work.
The woman said that the owner kept all the money from clients. Even when she sent money home, the amount was added to her debt. The owner demanded that she be available for sex 24 hours a day, try every practice, and not ask clients to use condoms.
8 to 10 clients per day
She had to serve 8 to 10 clients per day. Some came as late as 4 a.m., often drunk. She was never allowed to leave the house alone, only with a man.
Prosecutors believe the brothel owner was part of a larger criminal group. In 2020, five other members of the group were already sentenced by another court. One main person in that case, also from Thailand, was sent to prison for more than 8 years but was released early with a deportation order.
The brothel advertised women on a website called Asia-Ladys, run by a Frankfurt company. That company also helped independent sex workers advertise themselves. The owner of the advertising agency was also heard in court. She said she has approximately 400–500 clients in this industry.
The judge cited a call between the agency owner and the Thai woman, back from 2017. In the phone call, the Thai woman mentioned that all of her sex workers had been taken by the police. As it turned out, it is not rare in this industry that brothel owners share their secrets with advertising agencies, since they rarely have connections to other people and cannot release the high pressure otherwise.
It is much better to work in legal brothels
Vienna has a rich sex scene, where women can find all kinds of brothels to work in. In this industry, the brothels must follow strict rules and laws to avoid the closure of their business. The girls must obtain a license from the police and undergo regular health checks. Without meeting these conditions, they are not allowed to work legally — not just in Vienna, but throughout Austria as well.
It is true that low-level brothel types, e.g. sex studios, offer worse working conditions than the high-class sex clubs, but even there the sex worker can keep her own share of the payment for sexual services, based on the agreement between her and the place. Of course, women cannot be forced to provide unwanted services — if it happens, it is against the law and should be punished.
As for sex without a condom, it is also very common in Vienna, especially in low-level sex studios. To avoid the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, it is better to apply for work at high-class sex clubs, where not only the earning potential and working conditions are better, but sex without a condom is prohibited.
We have a detailed article about the brothel types in Vienna, click here and read the details: