The prostitution model and social integration of prostitutes in Latvia and Germany

1.Introduction

Prostitution is the long known act of providing services that are typically sexual in nature to other persons in return for payment and is the oldest branch of the sex industry. The liabilities and legal status of prostitution varies from country to country and not only in Europe, being a punishable crime in one to a regulated activity in the other. Choosing to compare Latvia and Germany in their policies towards prostitution was not an unintentional occurrence. Today combating consequences affiliated with prostitution such as human trafficking is a means of protecting human rights and tackling the issues of working conditions that are harmful to health, unacceptable or dangerous. At stake there are the rights of those women and men who earn their living through prostitution based on an autonomous, rational decision and to some extent conditioned by serious personal difficulties such as violent backgrounds, predicaments such as debt, or very limited options caused by social exclusion, unemployment or social cleavages resulting from the EU enlargement. They are confronted with widespread discrimination and have no lobby unless they come into the “victim of trafficking” category

Since 1 January 2002, Germany has adopted the Act Regulating the Legal Situation of Prostitutes in an effort to improve the legal situation of sex workers by permitting self-employment and the establishment of employment contracts. It gave them access to German social security systems such as health insurance, unemployment compensations and pensions. Whilst prostitution in Latvia is, also legal, its regulations and prohibitions limit the possibilities that are to be attained from this extensive profession therefor restricting the potential gain for a individual working and for the