Austria is one of those countries where sex work is legalized and regulated by numerous laws. However, these laws can vary from one federal state to the other. These laws were formulated with the safety of sex workers in mind, guaranteeing the best possible conditions for the clients as well.
What is the procedure of becoming a legal sex worker in Austria? If you are not familiar with these laws, then keep on reading and we are going to explain them below in this article.
Overview:
- Sex work is legal but there are rules to follow
- Prostitutes should also follow the law
- Steps to take if you want to work as a legal sex worker in Vienna
- Differences in regulations
- Human trafficking and illegal prostitution in Austria
- Resources about sex jobs in Austria
Sex work is legal but there are rules to follow
Based on the current rules of the Supreme Court, agreements between people offering sexual services and their clients are usually allowed. However, there’s no requirement to actually provide the service, which is to protect the rights of the people to change their mind.
In terms of job law, people offering sexual services are usually seen as self-employed, no matter how they actually work. But for taxes and social security, they might be seen as employees based on how they actually work. This can make things uncertain legally.
Because of this, it is highly recommended for newbie sex workers to start at a reputable brothel or escort agency, where the management handles these tasks.
Click here to get more information about the brothel system in Austria:
Prostitutes should also follow the law
Allowing women to work as prostitutes doesn’t mean they are free to work however they want to. There are laws and rules to follow and if they fail to do so, the government can react by punishing them appropriately. The first step for every woman who wants to become a prostitute is to attend to regular health checks.
Most importantly, they get checked for STDs because of their constantly changing client base. If they get a green card from the doctor, they can legally work at any brothel in Austria. Besides that, women need to register themselves as sex workers so that they can pay taxes and health insurance just like any other worker.
These are just the basic laws, as there are others to follow based on which state women want to work in. The strictest prostitution laws are in Vorarlberg where once women are registered as sex workers, they can only join legally operated brothels.
Steps to take if you want to work as a legal sex worker in Vienna
- Find a brothel where you want to work.
- Register yourself at the police station located at Deutschmeisterplatz 3, Room 14 – checkpoint, 1010 Wien.
- Visit the doctor for your initial health check-up at Thomas-Klestil-Platz 8/2, Access Schnirchgasse 14/1, 1030 Wien.
- Obtain the blue card from the police.
- Return to the doctor to receive your green card (health book).
You are not permitted to work in a brothel until you have your green book in hand. However, in the meantime, you can identify your workplace and discuss the details with the management..
For further information on these steps, you can refer to Maxim Wien’s brothel-related article: Steps to take if you wanna become a Sexworker
Differences in regulations
There can be slight differences between prostitution laws in each state. In Vienna, sex workers are able to provide escort services, yet there are barely any specific rules to follow. In Lower Austria and Burgenland, on the other hand, it is not allowed for escorts to visit houses and apartments with children living there.
Styria and Upper Austria is slightly different, as escorts there can only go to places where no minors are present. In some of the other states, women are not able to work as escorts at all. They can only work in brothels.
Because of these differences, women who want to become sex workers in Austria need to be aware of all the laws and regulations at the location of their choice. Otherwise, they can easily get into trouble with the local authorities. Depending on the different laws, women are able to choose the type of career in prostitution that suits them best.
Human trafficking and illegal prostitution in Austria
Despite the fact that sex work is legal in Austria, there is still a lot of human trafficking going on. There are also woman who don’t want to work as prostitutes, yet they get forced into it. A Loverboy or some other type of pimp comes around and forces them into a situation where they must offer sexual services for money.
This is all happening while legal sex workers are protected by authorities and can make a decent living. Moreover, there are staff members and brothel owners around them who they can rely on. Legal prostitution is generally safe in Austria but illegal prostitution is still prevalent.
After all, the main reason why less women can be exploited is because they get the support and protection they need from local authorities.
Resources about sex jobs in Austria
Here you can find the related authorities and organisations websites:
- IBUS – Innsbrucker Beratung und Unterstützung für Sexarbeiter*Innen (old website)
- LEFÖ: Beratung, Bildung und Begleitung für Migrantinnen (Wien)
- LENA – Fachberatungsstelle für Menschen, die in der Sexarbeit tätig sind oder waren (Linz)
- PiA Beratung für Sexarbeiterinnen (Salzburg)
- SOPHIE – BeratungsZentrum für Sexarbeiterinnen (VIenna)
- Frauenservice Graz
- Herzwerk, eine diakonische Initiative für Menschen in Prostitution (Vienna)
Summary
We can conclude that things are not so simple in Austria even though prostitution is legal. Laws and regulations can differ from state to state and there is still a lot of illegality in play. Woman who want to try themselves as sex workers need to be well-informed about the rules and regulations.
It is close to impossible to regulate a system like this to the point where human trafficking and pimping would be non-existent. However, the government tries its best by introducing new laws and regulations every now and then.