Editing Prostitution in Germany (section)

== Extent of prostitution and associated issues ==
Studies in the early 1990s estimated that about 50,000–200,000 women and some men did sex work in Germany.<ref name=leopold>B. Leopold, E. Steffan, N. Paul: ''Dokumentation zur rechtlichen und sozialen Situation von Prostitutierten in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland'', Schriftenreihe des Bundesministeriums für Frauen und Jugend, Band 15, 1993. (German)</ref> The ''[[International Encyclopedia of Sexuality]]'', published in 1997, reported that over 100,000 women work in prostitution in Germany.<ref name=encyclo>[http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/IES/germany.html Germany] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070428175212/http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/IES/germany.html |date=28 April 2007 }}, ''International Encyclopedia of Sexuality'', 1997–2001</ref> A 2005 study gave 200,000 as a "halfway realistic estimate".<ref name=ab>[http://www.bmfsfj.de/doku/prostitutionsgesetz/index.html Auswirkungen des Prostitutionsgesetzes] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080630202335/http://www.bmfsfj.de/doku/prostitutionsgesetz/index.html |date=30 June 2008 }}, IV Internationale Perspective. Sozialwissenschaftliches Frauenforschungsinstitut, Freiburg. July 2005. {{in lang|de}}</ref> The prostitutes' organization ''[[Hydra (association)|Hydra]]'' puts the number at 400,000, and this number is typically quoted in the press today. A 2009 study by [[TAMPEP]] also gave the ''Hydra'' estimate of 400,000 full or part-time prostitutes, with 93% being gender female, 3% transgender and 4% gender male.<ref name=tampep>{{citation|url=http://tampep.eu/documents/wssw_2009_final.pdf|title=Final Report TAMPEP 8, Germany|work=[[TAMPEP]] reports|date=October 2009|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720173715/http://tampep.eu/documents/wssw_2009_final.pdf|archive-date=20 July 2011}}</ref> According to several studies, 90% of sex workers in Germany are victims of [[human trafficking]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Legal prostitution in Germany: A failure? |url=https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/reporters/20240301-legal-prostitution-in-germany-a-failure |work=Frence 24 |date=1 March 2024}}</ref>

The same study found that 63% of the sex workers in Germany were foreigners, with two thirds of them coming from [[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Eastern Europe]]. In 1999 the proportion of foreign sex workers had been 52%. The increase was attributed to the [[Enlargement of the European Union|EU enlargement]].<ref name=tampep/><ref>{{citation|url=https://www.welt.de/vermischtes/article6209687/Deutschlands-Prostitution-immer-internationaler.html|title=Deutschlands Prostitution immer internationaler|date=1 February 2010|newspaper=Die Welt|language=de|last1=Schiltz|first1=Christoph B.}}</ref>

From other studies, it is estimated that between 10% and 30% of the male adult population have had experiences with sex workers.<ref name=encyclo/> Of those 17-year-old males in [[West Germany]] with experience of intercourse, 8% have had sex with a sex worker.<ref name=encyclo/>

A 2009 survey identified the following main vulnerability factors for German sex workers (in the order of importance):
# Financial problems, including debts and poverty.
# Violence and abuse by police, clients, and pimps.
# No professional identity; lack of self-confidence.
# Stigma and discrimination.
# Exploitative personal dependencies.<ref name=tampep/>