MPs of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) have penned an open letter to demand that the ban on prostitution should remain in place and that sex shops should be shut down. The petition addressed to the heads of Germany s federal states was signed by 16 lawmakers, who argued that prostitution and sex toys are coronavirus super-spreaders. Meanwhile, some prostitutes in Germany make a healthy living from quick state subsidies.

MPs of the German Bundestag argue that re-authorising prostitution after the curfew restrictions are lifted would hugely contribute to accelerating the spread of novel coronavirus. „Sexual acts are generally incompatible with social distancing,” the open letter says. The politicians also call for a ban on the sale of sex aids because, in their view, sex toys are used to „force women” to perform „shameful, harmful and humiliating acts”, according to Der Spiegel s online edition. The letter was signed by 16 Bundestag members, including former Health Minister Hermann Grohe, trade union chief Leni Breymaier and physician Dr Karl Lauterbach.

Berlin s prostitution advocacy organisations also penned an open letter to Mayor Michael Muller calling for the decriminalisation of prostitution and the reduction of fines. Since April, prostitutes who work on Berlin s streets in violation of the lockdown are punishable with up to €5,000 in fines. „It s an untenable situation to fine women who must make a living out of prostitution,” Gerhard Schonborn, head of the Neustart Association, told the German Neues Deutschland news site on Tuesday. Mr Schonborn believes the local government should organise trainings to help the so-called „classic” subsistence prostitutes who typically have no permanent address, nor any sort of health insurance in Germany. 

A 27-year-old Romanian prostitute living in Stuttgart has found a way to earn even more money during the lockdown. The boss of a brothel where she used to work told her about the German government s emergency relief fund. The prostitute who used to make 3,000 a month began pocketing €4,500 after applying for support to both the state of Baden-Wurttemberg and Germany s federal treasury, according to the online edition of the German Bild Zeitung.