A recent case of illegal prostitution in the western Bodenseekreis has reignited an emotional and complex debate: should Germany follow the Nordic model, where clients and pimps face punishment but not the women selling sex?
At a political evening hosted by the newly founded SPD Women of Bodenseekreis, chairwoman Barbara Oppelz invited local officials and social workers to discuss the realities of prostitution and the dangers faced by women in the business. The discussion, held in Überlingen, followed a police report about a woman charged with illegal prostitution in Überlingen and Owingen earlier this month.
Speakers Veronika Wäscher-Göggerle, the district’s Commissioner for Women and Families, and Dörte Christensen from Arkade e.V., shared years of field experience working with women in prostitution. Both described the huge gap between legal definitions and daily reality.
Germany Is the Brothel of Europe
Germany is the brothel of Europe, said Oppelz at the beginning of the evening — a phrase that immediately set the tone. She referred to the fact that prostitution has been legal in Germany since 2002, unlike in many neighbouring countries. Clients often cross borders from Switzerland or Austria, drawn by Germany’s more permissive laws.
The goal of legalization, she reminded the audience, was to protect women and provide safe conditions. But the results, as several participants admitted, have been mixed.
Legal on Paper, Risky in Reality
According to Wäscher-Göggerle and Christensen, legality has not solved the underlying problems. In Friedrichshafen, only 146 women are officially registered as sex workers, but experts believe that many more work illegally, without protection or health checks.
“Many of the women don’t speak German and come from countries such as Romania or Thailand,” said Christensen. “They are promised jobs as housekeepers or caregivers but end up in prostitution. Once here, they have no real choice.”
The speakers described how many women are forced to serve several clients a day simply to cover rent for their rooms, leaving them without stability or security.
The Call for a Nordic Model
Some politicians in Germany now suggest that the country should follow Sweden’s lead and introduce the Nordic model, which criminalises buyers and pimps but not the sellers. Supporters believe this would reduce demand and trafficking, while giving women a chance to leave prostitution without punishment.
Wäscher-Göggerle told the audience that she supports exploring the Nordic model but also acknowledged that the issue is complicated. “It’s not just about punishment. It’s about how we see these women — as people, not as products.”
As We Wrote in Our Previous Articles
As we have written many times before in Sex Vienna, the Nordic model is one of the most controversial legal frameworks in Europe. While it aims to protect women and reduce exploitation, critics across several countries argue that it often has the opposite effect.
Opponents of the model say it pushes sex work underground, reduces safety, and breaks the link between sex workers and the police. When clients fear prosecution, encounters are more likely to move to hidden, unregulated locations, increasing risks for everyone involved.
Health experts warn that this approach also limits access to medical checks and raises the spread of infections, since regular testing becomes impossible in an underground market. Economically, the model cuts legal income and tax revenue, while increasing law-enforcement costs and giving more power to criminal networks that profit from illegal operations.
Socially, critics claim it deepens stigma by portraying sex workers as victims and their clients as criminals, rather than addressing the real issues of poverty, migration, and lack of opportunity. The result, they say, is more isolation, more danger, and less control for those involved in sex work.
Supporters of the model argue the opposite — that penalising buyers challenges the idea that human bodies can be bought and sold, and that it sends a moral message about equality and dignity. Yet data from Sweden and other Nordic countries remains highly debated.
As we previously wrote, researchers and social organisations across Europe continue to question whether the model truly protects anyone or simply changes where the problems occur.
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