Due to the Covid crisis, which has been going on for more than 1. As already known from previous such phases, trade, gastronomy and also prostitution businesses have to remain closed up to and including December Thus, due to the fourth lockdown in effect since November 22, all prostitution establishments are expected to remain closed until December 12, , inclusive.
After that, prostitution services are to reopen for the vaccinated and recovered, but the lockdown for the unvaccinated will continue. From February , there should be mandatory vaccination. Prostitution is of course also practised during the Corona crisis, but on a much smaller scale and illegally.
The majority of women is leaving or left for their respective countries before the border barriers were put up, and a few prostitutes stayed in Austria. The majority of prostitutes in Austria are migrant women from Eastern Europe. Among them are also many day commuters from Slovakia. Sex workers were particularly hard hit by the Corona crisis financially and were entitled to benefits from the hardship fund as self-employed persons.
The following current hygiene and protection recommendations for the sex industry were drawn up by the Ministry of Health together with representatives of self-organisations and counselling centres. Prostitution represents a particularly precarious field of work that is at risk of exploitation. Nevertheless, many women make a conscious decision to earn their living in this way. A variety of measures are needed to prevent exploitation in prostitution - including human trafficking into prostitution.
Foreign examples also show that demand cannot be effectively stopped by a ban. On the contrary, a ban pushes sex service providers into illegality, where they are exposed to an even greater risk of exploitation. Some parties are calling for a general "ban on the purchase of sexual services". However, experts in Austria largely agree that it is better to make a clear distinction between voluntary prostitution and forced prostitution and to take appropriate measures in each case.
