Further steps are needed in the field of prostitution in Germany. That says Frank Heinrich, leader of the NGO "Together Against Human Trafficking".
Organising a brothel was easier than having a Tupperware party, Frank Heinrich says. Before Germany introduced its new prostitution law, in 2017, regulations on brothels were shockingly loose. Even a Tupperware party was scrutinised more critically than the sex industry.
In the CNE podcast, he explains why more than 99 per cent of all stakeholders in this slavery system are men, why nobody knows precisely how many people are trafficked, and why he opposes a simple ban on prostitution.
Having worked with the Salvation Army, in the German Bundestag, and the Evangelical Alliance, Heinrich says this mission is closest to his heart. As his name is Frank, he loves freedom and “this became a life thing for me”, he tells.
The new prostitution legislation was introduced in 2017. That has already shed more light on the dark sector. But Frank believes further steps are needed. That includes the Nordic model, which penalises buyers rather than sellers of sex, whilst prostitution in itself could be decriminalised. When France introduced this system, the sex tourism in German border towns reportedly dropped within weeks.
Therefore, he advocates for this system to be introduced in Germany as well. “In ten years, I don’t want to live in a country that has not looked into this value”, he shares with CNE podcast host Evert van Vlastuin.
Germany is the “brothel of Europe”, the President of the German Parliament said recently. She echoes other authoritative sources.
To solve the problem, the help of other countries is necessary, Frank says. For this reason, he appreciates the several declarations of the European Parliament in favour of the Nordic model.
The organisation “Gemeinsam gegen Menschenhandel” is not specifically a Christian organisation. But many people who are involved in the battle against trafficking work from a Christian mindset, Frank says. “It is a reflection of my heart to be the spokesman for people who cannot speak for themselves. Trafficking is an affront to our values.”