 One year after a clampdown on street prostitution in Vienna there are still relatively few areas where street prostitution is legal and no further zones
have been legalised.
City Councillor Sandra Frauenberger said:
The more we succeed in pulling prostitution out of this social grey area, the better that the women involved will be protected from exploitation, violence and abuse The passing of a new law alone does not suffice -- it must be accompanied
by various other changes.
At the centre of the law was the ban on street prostitution in residential areas. However there still are not enough safe areas for street prostitution to dissuade women from working in illegal brothels. Legal areas for street prostitution can be found
near the Prater and Auhof regions of Vienna.
Since one year ago, no further zones have been legalised. Requests to have permitted zones in built up areas have been rejected. Hebein has criticised that the reaction from many districts is Not on my doorstep!
Less than 30 Viennese brothels currently have a permit for meeting the requirements set out in the new rules for local prostitution. 250 further brothels have applied for this permit, though it is estimated that there are over 450 such establishments and
that this number is set to rise.
There are currently 2,800 registered sex workers in Vienna -- 400 more than one year ago.
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