Despite having some of the most liberal prostitution laws in the world, Switzerland has never before been home to a formal union for sex workers. If they wanted to become members, it would be important that they share our political views, but they have not yet asked to be included. Switzerland has long been criticised by the international community for allowing prostitution by teens as young as The government has proposed changes to the criminal code which would make it a crime to hire or sell the services of a prostitute who is younger than The change would bring Switzerland in line with its obligations under a Council of Europe convention it signed in that requires signatories to implement such a ban.
Under the proposed change, which has not yet gone into effect, young sex workers would not be prosecuted for their actions — only those who seek or sell their services would be held responsible. Prostitution is legal in Switzerland but prostitutes have to register with city authorities and health authorities and get regular health checks.
In Switzerland pimping is illegal and uncommon: most prostitutes operate independently out of massage parlours or small studios via mobile phones. They cannot display their wares. Human trafficking in persons can carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years and coercing a person into prostitution is punishable with up to ten years in prison.
L permits were created in and allow women from countries that do not have a free labour accord with Switzerland to work as dancers in cabaret clubs for up to eight months. Sign up for our free newsletters and get the top stories delivered to your inbox. Click here to see more newsletters. All rights reserved. The content of the website by swissinfo. It is intended for private use only. Any other use of the website content beyond the use stipulated above, particularly the distribution, modification, transmission, storage and copying requires prior written consent of swissinfo.
Should you be interested in any such use of the website content, please contact us via contact swissinfo. As regards the use for private purposes, it is only permitted to use a hyperlink to specific content, and to place it on your own website or a website of third parties.
