It’s now possible for brothels in Germany to earn a seal of approval from the German brothel owners’ associated (BSD).
The BSD reportedly rank brothels in order to assess their working conditions and the quality of their services.
The establishments can receive one to six “crowns” after inspection – with brothels on six crowns also providing other services; such as food, a gym and events.
To get this seal of approval, brothels are subject to a three-stage evaluation.
This includes ensuring it meets the minimum working requirements outlined in Germany’s prostitution law. Simply put, it means brothel owners must show that it has certain security features, like lockers, spy holes, and alarms in every room. The brothels must also promise to fight violence, coercion and crime within the industry.
The establishments must also show that their prostitutes work independently and voluntarily, and are free to decide which clients they entertain and what services they provide.
Prostitution is legal in Germany, but workers must be self-employed.
On BSD’s website, it states that the seal of approval also identifies a brothel’s owner, how they can be reached and the size of the brothel. It hopes it will improve quality and transparency in the industry.
BSD chairwoman Stephanie Klee told Deutsche Welle:
This seal has many advantages. For one thing it means we can look at the individual establishments, how good they are, how they can be categorised, and give them an incentive to improve.
And we can tell sex workers, customers, and authorities that these are good, serious places that have transparency.
