Yesterday, Switzerland unveiled its first drive-in sex garages, sparking discussions about the moral and financial implications surrounding this controversial initiative.
Located in a park-like area bordered by walls on the outskirts of Zurich, the nine “sex boxes” allow clients to engage in sexual activities with prostitutes inside their vehicles.
Prostitutes will position themselves along a road that leads to the drive-in car ports, where they can discuss fees with prospective customers.
Supporters of the initiative believe it will enhance the safety and hygiene of sex workers, offering them protection from streetwalking and the need to go to remote areas like forests or wastelands for sexual encounters.
Many of these women, who are predominantly Roma gypsies from central and eastern Europe, possess only a basic understanding of German, which heightens their vulnerability.
Conversely, critics have denounced the initiative for promoting the sex trade, arguing that it is inappropriate to utilize 2 million Swiss francs (AUD$2.4 million) of taxpayer funds to construct the facility situated in an aging industrial zone west of Zurich’s city center.
Additionally, maintaining the site will incur an annual cost of an extra 700,000 francs.
The concept of sex boxes was sanctioned through a public referendum last year, where nearly 53 percent of voters supported it; however, it faces opposition from the populist Swiss People’s Party (SVP).
Local SVP politician Sven Oliver Dogwiler expressed skepticism, stating, “It will not work, either because the clients will not come or because the site will not be used by prostitutes.”
He added, “It puts them in a cleaner space, but one that is subsidised by taxes.” Nonetheless, city officials argue that allowing sex workers to conduct their business away from the city is preferable to the disruptions caused by intoxicated clients in the Sihlquai district, as had been common in the past.
“Prostitution is essentially a business. We cannot ban it, so we aim to regulate it for the benefit of both sex workers and the community,” stated Michael Herzig, the city’s director of social services. “If we do not regulate it, organized crime and pimps will take control.”
Clients are required to be over 18, and neither pedestrians nor men on motorcycles are permitted, as the sexual activities must occur within a car.
The council decided against installing video surveillance cameras, believing that such measures might deter many potential customers from utilizing the site.
The sex boxes will operate daily from 7pm to 5am.
While prostitution remains legal in Switzerland, sex workers are obligated to pay a nightly tax of five Swiss francs for their work.
