The Role of NGOs Involved in Protecting the Rights of Prostituted Women in Germany in the Politicization of the Issues of Sexual Exploitation and Violence

Abstract

Since the 1980s, the issue of prostitution in Germany developed from the level of measures to combat AIDS to the state (law on prostitution) and international policy level: within the EU it gradually gets the status of a “cause and consequence of gender inequality”, is included in the political agenda of achieving gender equality and, therefore, tackling the issue also shapes the image of the EU on the international arena. There, in Germany as a country considered as the economic locomotive of the EU, alongside the laws, which are unique for Europe nowadays, there is a pool of international NGOs seeking to influence German policy on this issue. This article provides a brief overview of public organizations in Germany that deal with the problems of prostitution at the political and social levels.