Because of the problems introduced by the Coronavirus, more and more women need to turn to illegal prostitution in Vienna. Since they are not allowed to work legally without the proper documents, many women choose to work from apartments that are turned into illegal brothels. The Viennese police are relentlessly trying to stop these illegal operations and many of these unlawful apartments are being raided and the women fined. For more information about the current happenings in Vienna, keep reading this blog post.
Brothels in Vienna are open from July 1st
Because of the Coronavirus, all brothels and other places needed to be closed in Vienna. Since the situation has become better, these types of establishments have been allowed to start operating once again from the start of July, 2020. There are a few minor restrictions that brothel owners need to keep in mind, but there haven’t really been any major changes as a result of the virus. Masks can be worn in the establishments, but they are not mandatory. Additionally, unlike other countries, there is no restriction on the services that the women can offer in Vienna.
Why don’t women work legally in Vienna?
The reason why many women are turning to illegal prostitution is because they are not able to acquire the necessary documents for legal work. Currently, although brothels have been allowed to reopen from the start of July, many women still can’t get back to their old jobs. The women who wish to work legally are required to have a test done on them that shows that they are not infected with the COVID-19 disease.
The problem with this is that there is only one place where they can acquire these documents, however the waiting times for these tests is very long and the number of women who are applying for them is high. In fact, some women need to wait up to three months for them to be able to take the test.
An article was published in 6Austria Wiki about COVID 19: Corona Virus in Austria
The reason behind this is that there are a set number of tests that can be done daily. The number of tests is very low compared to the amount of women that wish to undergo it. Additionally, we have received reports that women who are not from Austria are systematically rejected, which means that they are not even eligible to undergo the testing.
Women turn to illegal prostitution as a result
Since the women are not able to take the COVID-19 tests, they have no other choice if they wish to earn money than to start working through illegal means. Many sexworkers chose to rent apartments that they turn into illegal brothels for the time being. These women usually advertise on online platforms and do business right there in the apartment.
As a result of this, the police department has started raiding these apartments and apprehending the women who work there. In total, the police have raided over 40 similar apartments recently. According to our sources, the police have filed approximately 200 reports against the women who worked in the illegal brothels, as well as against the owners of the apartments who rented them out to the women. The women and the apartment owners are fined huge amounts of money and may even face jail time.
It is not worth working illegally in Vienna
Although the women might have made some money with their illegal brothels, but the fines that they receive if they are caught are too high to justify their actions. Not only do the women lose all the money that they have made, but they also fall into debts as a result. Because of this, it is definitely not worth working illegally, especially if we factor in the chance of spreading the Coronavirus even further.
Parting words
The Coronavirus has had an immense impact on our everyday lives, as well as the sex scene in Vienna. However, working illegally isn’t the solution to the problems, especially since we are not completely over the pandemic. Currently, the only thing women who wish to work as prostitutes can do is wait for the COVID-19 tests and then start working in one of Vienna’s legally operated brothels. Unfortunately, we are sure that we will hear more stories of illegally operated apartments and women who try to make money through illegal means. We just hope that this will change soon and that everybody who wishes can be allowed to start working legally again.
We have written this text based on the information that was published on the Sex Vienna Blog not long ago. If you want to read the article we based our post on, we highly suggest you read that blog post too.
If you want other brothel related posts, check out some of these previous publications on the Brothels in Vienna blog!
