The drive-in booths outside the city centre, which will accommodate sex workers and their customers. Over the past few years, though, it has become notorious for the sex workers plying their trade there at night. For local inhabitants, the presence of the often scantily-clad ladies of the night has become intolerable, either because of the noise and rubbish the prostitutes generate, or the traffic caused by their car-borne clients. The sex trade in the area has also been the result in some cases of human trafficking, forced prostitution and other serious forms of abuse.
All these factors were enough for the local authorities to seek a solution to end both the violence and the disturbances associated with the prostitutes. There are nine garages or shelters, and between 40 to 60 prostitutes could work there every day. Zurich looked to Germany for inspiration, taking the city of Cologne as its example.
It was a German first, but it was inspired by the Dutch, notably the city of Utrecht. Other German towns such as Essen followed suit. Dortmund, Amsterdam and Rotterdam tried and failed in their attempts. In Switzerland, prostitution is legal and is taxed liked any other business.
But some cantons and cities have their own specific regulations. In Zurich, the opening of the sex boxes is part of a wider strategy to eliminate illegal prostitution.
Since the beginning of the year, an authorisation is required to ply the sex trade on the street or in the new sex drive-in.
