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Third Party Sex Work and Pimps in the Age of Anti-trafficking pp 151–176Cite as

Perceptions About Pimps in an Upscale Mega Brothel in Germany

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Abstract

This paper examines how different actors in an upscale brothel in Germany experience and describe pimps and the influence they have in the brothel and in their lives. Over the last years, scholars, activists, and lawmakers working on prostitution have looked critically to Germany—which legalized prostitution in 2002—and to what extent this improved the working conditions and lives of sex workers there. The brothel under study is one of the many new upscale sauna clubs that have sprung up all over Germany. In contrast to the club’s claims as a model for legal prostitution, sex workers, clients, and even a substantial number of employees often talked about the sex workers who were working for pimps, about pimps’ mingling among customers, about their attempts to recruit new girls as well as their surveillance and the stress that caused. Even though this study relies on statements about pimps, the preponderance of this subject and prostitution insiders’ pervasive concern with them suggest that they play a significant role even in legal and upscale prostitution.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    I use the concept of brothel floor here to highlight the stage of this sauna as a setting parallel to other shop floor cultures, where people make a living. See Willis (1977) and Fine (2006).

  2. 2.

    Paragraph 181 of the German Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch) defines pimping as “economically exploiting another person who is engaging in sex work” (StGB Paragraph 181a, (1)), or “controlling or directing a person’s sex work, or preventing a person from leaving prostitution,” a condition that also applies to spouses (181a (2)). Exploitation here is understood as someone extracting more than 50% of the earnings of a sex worker. In cases where the victim is under age (below 18), inducement to prostitution alone, even without direct financial exploitation is punishable by law (180), as is the exploitation of a person in a prostitution venue in which she or he is held personally or financially dependent (180a, 1), or by offering under-age persons an apartment or a commercial venue to engage (Strafgesetzbuch, dejure.org http://dejure.org/gesetze/StGB/232.html).

  3. 3.

    Much more is written about pimps and traffickers in the form of autobiographies and novels (f.ex. Barth 2011; Feige 2013, 2004, 2003; Lemke and Marquardt 2011; Sobota 1978), where they are often featured as celebrities.

  4. 4.

    “Nach Erkenntnissen der Untersuchung unterscheidet sich organisierte Kriminalität

    von traditioneller (Banden-)Kriminalität vor allem durch eine spezielle Logistik.

    In allen untersuchten Deliktsbereichen würden “komplexe Tätergruppen

    mit Hilfe einer ausgefeilten Logistik geschäftsähnlich agieren und dadurch erhebliche

    Finanz- und Machtpositionen erreichen”. Den Tätern sei es gelungen,

    mit Hilfe von Korruption in einzelne Bereiche der Verwaltung einzudringen.

    Neben streng hierarchischen Organisationen würden insbesondere im Bereich

    deutscher Zuhältergruppen lockere Straftäterverflechtungen existieren.165.” (Herz and Minthe 2006: p. 38).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY, USA

    Annegret Staiger

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  1. Annegret Staiger
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Correspondence to Annegret Staiger .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology , William Paterson University, New York, New York, USA

    Amber Horning

  2. Anthropology Department, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, New York, USA

    Anthony Marcus

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Staiger, A. (2017). Perceptions About Pimps in an Upscale Mega Brothel in Germany. In: Horning, A., Marcus, A. (eds) Third Party Sex Work and Pimps in the Age of Anti-trafficking. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50305-9_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50305-9_8

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