Yes, prostitution is legal in Switzerland. It surprises many outsiders who see the country as a conservative nation of dairy farmers and buttoned-up bankers; but, Switzerland has long embraced socially liberal values and free thinking among its citizens.

In 2013, Switzerland raised the legal age for sex workers from 16 to 18 years old.

Amsterdam’s red light district gets all the press, but while the Dutch brothels have only been legal since 2000, Switzerland has protected legal sex work since the 1940s. Today, there are more than 20,000 registered sex workers in Switzerland who choose one of its many red light districts, brothels or other unusual venues through which to practice their profession. Of course as with everything in Switzerland, the work is highly regulated and meticulously organized.

Not only is prostitution legal, but it is considered a form of independent economic activity – taxed and regulated as much as any industry in Switzerland. Sex workers must have health insurance and work visas in order to apply for the necessary permits from the government. Most importantly, sex workers must declare that they are entering the field voluntarily; anything else is considered human trafficking.

Sex (work) and the city

Sex workers aren’t allowed to offer their services just anywhere in a Swiss city, which makes them basically invisible, unless you go looking for them. There are designated zones, called Strassenstriche (which literally translates to “Street lines”), for sex workers to work in. Each Strassenstriche has its own set of rules, opening hours, hygiene regulations and even reception areas. Although the Strassenstriche looks different in each canton, the rules about working out of these zones or outside of the regulated hours are similar – sex workers will be fined, and risk losing their license if done repeatedly. For example, in Zurich these fines start at a minimum of 200 Swiss francs.

The drive-through concept of Zurich’s “sex boxes” promises workers safer work environments, proponents say.

Sex boxes and other unusual offices

Apart from the Strassenstrich zone, Zurich introduced yet another special facility for sex workers: sex boxes. These so-called boxes essentially allow a drive through sex service, offering the sex workers a space with everything they need to run their business. The boxes are equipped with showers as well as security alarms, offering the prostitutes a way to perform their job in a safe space and away from possibly violent pimps.

Businessman Bradley Charvet announced pre-pandemic that he will open a “fellatio café” in Geneva, where customers can get a latte with something extra – also providing a safe environment for Swiss sex workers. At about 60 CHF for a service, it is the most expensive coffee in Switzerland.

In larger Swiss cities, you will find high-end escort services that cater to diplomats, politicians, celebrities and wealthy business people. The escorts often speak many languages and are well-educated. They can serve as arm candy for events, or stay the night for a few thousand Swiss francs.

Perhaps the most unusual use of sex work in Switzerland has been for inmates at La Pâquerette, a social therapy department for prisoners. In 2014 it was announced that the inmates would be allowed to visit sex workers in the Champ-Dollon detention center near Geneva, accompanied by therapists.

Sex Work and Ethics

Many Swiss organizations continue to protect the legality of sex work in the country, using the slogan “Sex work is work.” Their main arguments are:

• Keeping prostitution legal forces sex workers to declare where their work takes place and with whom, which in turn, helps authorities to protect them.
• Banning prostitution would not eliminate prostitution, it would only drive sex workers to enter dangerous scenarios.
• A ban on prostitution would be fairly expensive, if Switzerland wants to do it the right way. Someone would have to help workers find new jobs or at the very least pay for their education, so they’d be able to pursue new careers. Anything else would just not sit right with Swiss citizens.
• Being a liberal country that values equality, Switzerland sees the legality of prostitution as a clear sign of equal rights. After all, the sex workers should have a right to self-determination and commercial freedom – just like everyone else in the country.

Geneva is the only city in Switzerland where sex workers are allowed to “advertise” their products in windows — similar to Amsterdam’s red light district.

What do Swiss citizens think about legal sex work?

Now, this is a difficult question to answer. No polls to date have been published on their opinion, but as the direct democracy model allows Swiss people to put almost any law to a vote,  it would appear the Swiss have accepted prostitution as a part of life.

As a Swiss resident myself, I’ve often heard in conversation that no one minds sex work, as long is it is kept to its zones and does not spill over into residential areas – hence the creation of the Strassenstrich. As long as it remains organized and regulated, it is a business like any other for the Swiss.

International opponents

Even though there is Swiss consensus that prostitution should stay legal, that doesn’t mean it’s never been attacked by outsiders. In 2018, some Swedish citizens started a video campaign against Switzerland’s prostitution laws – using some of Switzerland’s own history as fodder. The video heavily criticizing the way Switzerland has treated women in the past; for example, women only received the right to vote in 1971 (and 1991 in the canton of Appenzell).

A screenshot from the YouTube video to campaign the Swiss change their legal sex model.

The video campaign succeeded in stirring up a conversation in almost all Swiss media outlets. However, it did not succeed in changing any sex work laws. Moreover, a Swiss NGO that originally supported the Swedish campaign – Frauenzentrale Zürich – later sent out a correction, saying that banning prostitution has never been their goal. What they wanted to achieve instead was a shift towards the so-called Swedish model.

The Swedish model

Sweden is well-known for how it handles prostitution. Under their model, sex workers cannot be prosecuted as criminals, but those who purchase sexual services can be. This model supposedly helps to decriminalize sex work, which makes it easier for them to leave the industry and find another occupation. Additionally, it’s meant to provide a more safe environment for sex workers.

What’s the future of prostitution in Switzerland?

With Covid-19 restrictions forcing Swiss residents to work from home and avoid contact with others for months at a time in 2020 and 2021, sex work in Switzerland plummeted. Sadly, the ban led a lot of sex workers to continuing their work illegally and risking their health. A study from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences showed that the ban gave pimps as well as the clients more power over the prostitutes and led to an increase of fraud, coercion as well as violence. The university stated that these results clearly speak against a ban – even in a health crisis.

One sex work case even ended up in Switzerland’s highest court. In June 2021, the Swiss federal court ruled that foreign sex workers should not have access to “Covid funds” from the government due to lost pay. The court said that their temporary work visas precluded them from receiving funds like other workers in the country.

And while one generation of sex workers in Switzerland have left in droves during the pandemic, there seems to always be a new group of young people looking to enter the profession. This leads me to believe that, at least for the foreseeable future, Switzerland’s prostitution laws aren’t going to change.