The aim of the manual, which lawyers and social workers helped prepare, is to tell "women wishing to migrate from Ukraine" how to find legal work in Germany – including as prostitutes. There was one significant caveat: "This, however, unfortunately applies only to people who have the appropriate work permit and residence permit (for example, those married here)."
The fatal expression in the manual’s fate was "unfortunately." It was on this that the current State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs August Hanning, who headed the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) until December of last year, stumbled while reading the text. He himself took up his pen and composed a formal reprimand to the champions of the "horizontal craft," as Germans call prostitution.
As stated in the GOTS charter, this organization is called upon to support "comprehensive reforms and processes of change in developing and transitioning countries." At the same time, GOTS’s activities are aimed at "continuous improvement of people’s living conditions and prospects." However, in the brochure for foreign women, concern for people took a rather inappropriate turn. "In essence, behavior associated with breaking the law is being supported," writes the indignant Hanning.
The mention of illegal entry into the Federal Republic of Germany via the "green border" (that is, from Poland and the Czech Republic, where a relaxed border patrol regime is in effect) is accompanied in the brochure by the remark that "many women do this." The State Secretary at the Ministry of Internal Affairs was struck by the advice from a state authority on how to avoid encountering the police in the event of being in Germany illegally. Hanning writes: "In the absence of a residence permit, the brochure’s authors strongly advise against seeking help from the police. The brochure says: ‘If the police find out that you do not have legal documents, they will be forced to see to it that you leave the country.’"
The dubious brochure was also condemned for its "lack of political instinct" by the domestic policy expert of the Christian Social Union, Hans Peter Uhl. He called it "an instruction for illegal entry into the country, prostitution, and human smuggling for Ukrainian women and Ukrainian traffickers in human goods."
The topic became especially relevant as Germany prepared to host the World Cup in June. Security experts predict that during the event, 30,000–40,000 prostitutes from Eastern Europe will enter the country illegally. This is in addition to half a million of their own, who are more or less officially registered.
Recently, the conference of state interior ministers was developing special measures to counteract this social scourge. However, it is only about illegals. The rest freely provide sexual services on the basis of a special federal law of 2002, which allows "private-enterprise prostitution" but prohibits pimping. In the latter case, there is a caveat: a priestess of love can work under an employment contract. But the "employer" (for example, a brothel keeper) has no right to ask how, when, and in what quantity the prostitute under his charge earns her hard living. On average in Germany, the annual turnover of such an enterprise is €170,000. This industry contributes over a billion euros to the country’s fiscal authorities. A prostitute’s earnings in Germany in statistical terms are comparable to those of saleswomen – about €2,000 per month before taxes and social contributions.
As a possible method of localizing the rampant paid sex during the World Cup days, the conference of heads of regional interior ministries proposed installing additional brothel facilities in the form of temporary container structures "for the satisfaction of needs." Experience in operating such structures exists in Bavaria. Such sheds for pleasant meetings are set up, for example, during the traditional "October festival" – the Oktoberfest in Munich. This was pointed out by Bavaria’s Interior Minister Günther Beckstein, noting that prostitution itself is not prohibited and always takes place during major international events. "The sex industry prepared for the World Cup in advance," said the Bavarian minister and stated meaningfully: "The authorities are already noticing an increased number of prostitutes in brothels."