[ Jana ]This is the brothel
[ Marx ]You can even use Apple Pay!
[ Nicole ]There's a shower, a toilet, almost everything I need
[ Nicole ]I work in my trailer
[ Jana ]One lockdown after another! It's crazy!
[ Annemarie Schoss ]This pandemic has just laid bare the miserable situation they're in
[ Jana ]'Yes, mummy's off to work...' So, he doesn't ask what I do or where
[ Marx ]Everyone invested a lot to be hygienic, but were shut down anyway
- Hello - We're closed 00:00:39:00 00:00:43:00 RED LIGHTS OUT
[ Annemarie Schoss ]I wish I could say otherwise, but...
Most of the prostitution that exists in Germany today is illegal in one way or another 00:00:49.73 00:00:54.73 [ VO ] They’re made illegal by the fact that nearly all sex workers are in a hopeless financial situation. 00:00:55.83 00:00:58.47 Their savings may have seen them through the first COVID lockdown, 00:00:59.948 00:01:03.112 but the second is driving brothels and workers into bankruptcy. 00:01:06.672 00:01:08.973 Prostitution is legal in Germany, but for months, 00:01:08.973 00:01:11.532 all brothels have been forced to keep closed. 00:01:12.372 00:01:15.876 Sex workers have had to operate outside the law, just to survive. 00:01:17.671 00:01:21.032 The Social Democratic Party of Germany is preparing to overhaul the law, 00:01:21.032 00:01:26.427 while activists blow the whistle and claim that Germany is becoming the bordello of Europe.
[ Annemarie Schoss ]About 40,000 women are currently registered,
but about 400,000 are presumed to be engaged in prostitution
This pandemic has just laid bare the miserable situation they're in
NICOLE
[ Nicole ]Now, we've been put on quarantine for the pandemic
This district's been locked down again, unfortunately
A lot of street girls work in this area 00:02:06.491 00:02:08.671 [ VO ] Nicole has been in the business for more than 30 years. 00:02:09.265 00:02:13.265 This section of suburban road in Cologne is extremely important to her, because it’s a legal zone. 00:02:14.803 00:02:20.037 Since lockdown and anti-COVID measures shut it down, she’s had no way to work legally.
[ Nicole ]Should I tell you about my normal work day or a pandemic work day?
Before COVID, I came at noon, because that's when the police opened the gate
They control everything around here
I usually work 4-6 hours
I mostly work during the day and rarely at night
It's just that there are more drunks then, and I don't like night-time myself
I prefer to stay at home in the evenings
Sometimes I have a good day, sometimes not
On average, I have 3-5 clients 00:03:00.549 00:03:05.701 [ VO ]The area where the girls work is close to a police station so they feel fairly safe and protected. 00:03:05.701 00:03:16.406 Each girl has a licence and pays taxes. But the pandemic has changed things drastically. They used to make good money but now, government assistance barely covers the most basic of needs.
[ Nicole ]Now, with the 2nd lockdown, I'll have to apply for aid,
as my money's just run out
It gets harder every day
If I don't get aid for November soon,
I'll have a really hard time during this second lockdown
I need money to feed my family,
to fill the fridge and pay the bills:
electricity, water, rent, and so on
Yes, my son knows too
I was honest from the start
I'm glad that my children support me 00:04:05.474 00:04:07.921 [ VO ]Recently, Nicole decided to work from a caravan. 00:04:07.921 00:04:11.921 It’s convenient, quick and mobile and there’s always space in a car park. 00:04:12.995 00:04:16.310 If the customers can’t travel, then the vendor will.
[ VO ]There's a shower, a toilet, almost everything I need
I work in my trailer
Let's see here… oil level seems to be OK
In our region, these areas are called 'rest stops'
I stay there and serve the customers
For me, the trailer is a safe, protected place
We always comply with the hygiene requirements
When a man comes in, he must be sprayed with this sanitiser
Here, not far from the pedestrian zone,
there's a golf course, where wealthy people continue to gather
We, the street women, are also here, but we've been shut down
I think they should have been shut down instead of us because they are rich,
but the poor always have to struggle
JANA 00:05:32.182 00:05:37.844 [ VO ]After filling in a form at the employment centre to continue receiving benefits, Jana goes to work. 00:05:37.844 00:05:44.359 Of course, you can’t work legally in lockdown, but you can check your accounts or visit an empty brothel.
We'll continue when business reopens
If the lockdown lasts more than 6 months, it'll be fatal for most establishments
[ Jana ]This is the brothel
Oh, yes! It's like my 2nd home!
Well, of course not
I'm just kidding
This is my workplace. It's very cosy, just wonderful 00:06:18.777 00:06:24.197 [ VO ]Jana is a self-employed businesswoman who paid her taxes and was quite happy with the way things were. 00:06:24.197 00:06:28.197 If it wasn’t for the coronavirus upsetting her plans, she would still be providing for her and her family. 00:06:29.235 00:06:30.789 And quite comfortably
[ Jana ]I've been in this business for 23 years
I'm 49 now and still make good money. I do fine without cosmetic surgery, Botox, etc.
I've been paying taxes since 2007
I'm a registered worker
I've got papers… a prostitution permit
Everything's been legalised, but we're still stigmatised 00:06:59.253 00:07:05.362 [ VO ]Jana has an extensive client base and a few brothel regulars have offered financial help and support during the lockdown. 00:07:05.362 00:07:08.002 In the family, her job has never been an issue.
[ Jana ]'Mum, are you off to work?'
'Yes, mummy's off to work...' So, he doesn't ask what I do or where
I've been lucky so far
He's 18, and we live far from this place,
but I can imagine him standing at this door as a client in a couple years
Honestly? Some people clean toilets, others provide sexual services
Everyone sells something
Some sell their bodies, others their minds
Basically, we're all for sale
PASCHA
[ Armin ]We lived off our reserves for more than 6 months,
but they eventually ran out,
so we announced our bankruptcy on September 1st 00:08:13.142 00:08:15.062 [ VO ]Armin Lobscheid owns the PASCHA brothel. 00:08:15.062 00:08:17.183 He’s had to declare the business bankrupt. 00:08:17.183 00:08:24.886 Two consecutive lockdowns have put what used to be a Mega-Brothel out of commission and it was once dubbed Europe’s largest. 00:08:24.886 00:08:32.083 The now insolvent bordello has served up to 1,000 clients a day and had been a feature of Cologne for 50 years.
[ Armin ]We also received some government subsidies, but not enough to maintain a building like this
The PASCHA building's been here for 50 years
- As a brothel? - Yes
We regularly employed between 70 and just over 100 women every day
Actually, this would be our peak season right now,
with all the Christmas holidays and stag parties, which won't be taking place now 00:09:10.648 00:09:12.958 [ VO ]Armin Lobscheid says that women’s rights activists, 00:09:12.958 00:09:16.461 who campaigned to outlaw prostitution, have achieved their goal. 00:09:16.461 00:09:20.461 Now though sex workers have to meet men in hotels, or apartments, even cars. 00:09:21.375 00:09:27.221 They have no protection from violent customers, pimps, or coronavirus, among other dangers.
[ Armin ]If we met all the applicable hygiene regulations,
the nightclub wouldn't be able to operate at all
Women were banned from working on the streets or privately,
so some went back to their home countries,
but most began working illegally
The Internet has gained the most from this situation 00:09:58.296 00:10:02.296 [ VO ]Naturally, the most resourceful business minds have responded to the coronavirus situation 00:10:02.543 00:10:06.543 and moved on to alternative, modern and COVID-safe platforms. 00:10:06.803 00:10:10.771 They went online with contact free, virtual interaction. 00:10:14.192 00:10:19.946 Marx is one such resourceful entrepreneur who saw a promising avenue and started to develop and exploit it. 00:10:19.946 00:10:22.582 He also owns a brothel that’s currently closed.
This is how this program works
MARX
[ Marx ]This is how this program works As a brothel owner, I can see on my computer which rooms are occupied and for how long
See?
Some in this business are on the brink of bankruptcy or closure
Others will hold on 2 to 3 months more
This is my desk, this is a cash register. Everything goes through the computer
We take credit cards
You can use Apple Pay or other means
We're very advanced
Everyone invested a lot to be hygienic, but were shut down anyway
The rats will win in the end
And that's good, as all these clients will be mine
I rejoice at every bankruptcy, as that means more for me
We're just on our way to my brothel
My employee's waiting for me there
I need to lay her off officially so she claim unemployment benefits…
because we don't know when this lockdown will end
Yes, everything is correct
I've made copies of this one
Now I need to make copies of the rest of the papers and take them 00:11:46.554 00:11:50.186 [ VO ]Ilona is the manager here, and she’s outraged by what’s happening to the brothel. 00:11:50.186 00:11:54.186 She can’t understand how the coronavirus could spread in a bordello. 00:11:54.461 00:11:58.461 But because it’s been shut down, Ilona signs on at a local job centre.
[ Ilona ]I'll get about €1,000 in benefits
Of course, if I'd worked, it would be more
I've worked as a manager here for 25 years
I love it here
During the pandemic, our guests must fill out this form
The client must write down the date, and his name, address, and phone number
in case he needs to be notified that he may have been exposed
We keep these for one month, just in case
Unfortunately, we had to refuse some visitors because they didn't want to fill in the form
They feared getting a notice at home saying they'd got coronavirus here 0:12:50.638 00:12:53.961 [ VO ]While trade unions claim that the sex industry has been forgotten, 00:12:53.961 00:12:57.961 activists set up pickets, and one by one, brothels go under. 00:12:58.596 00:13:02.596 Some Bundestag members went even further and proposed in parliament 00:13:02.710 00:13:06.107 that Germany should adopt the so-called 'Scandinavian model' 00:13:06.107 00:13:12.562 A system that doesn’t penalise people who provide sexual services but those who create the demand – the customers.
- Hello! - Sorry, we're closed
When will you open?
Perhaps, if we're lucky, in December,
but maybe we won't open again at all
I don't know, follow the news
I wish I could say otherwise, but