Due to the new COVID Protection Measures Ordinance, which came into force on November 3, and will remain in force until at least November 30, , all facilities for the practice of prostitution will again be closed as of November 3. At the federal level, the general tax and social security regulations apply.
As a rule, sex service providers are considered self-employed. In addition, there are a few specific regulations, especially the obligation to undergo a 6-week examination. In April , the so-called Covid relaxation decree was passed, according to which paragraph 9 2 item 7 "Visitors are prohibited from entering facilities for the practice of prostitution". Prostitution was of course also practised during the Corona crisis, but on a much smaller scale and illegally.
The majority of women left for their respective countries before the border barriers were put up, and a few prostitutes stayed in Austria.
The Corona Ordinance only applied until 30 June inclusive. Prostitution is a particularly precarious and exploitative field of work. Nevertheless, many women make a conscious decision to earn a living from it. Currently, there are about 8, registered sex workers in Austria. In order to prevent exploitation in prostitution - including human trafficking into prostitution - a variety of measures are needed.
Foreign examples also show that demand cannot be effectively suppressed 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".
