Zurich Okays Drive-In Sex Booths For Safer Prostitution

Zurich, Switzerland — The city of Zurich will soon have drive-in sex booths for prostitutes after voters passed a referendum to approve their construction on the outskirts of the city.

The drive-in sex booths will allow prostitutes in the city to conduct their business in a designated area in the hopes that the sex industry will become safer and more regulated, reports ABC News.

The drive-in sex booths will give approximately 30 prostitutes and their customers private accommodations to conduct their business when they open in August 2012.

Once they open, prostitution will be banned in certain parts of Zurich. It will instead be confined to the new “sex boxes” and two other zones, according to a news release by the Zurich Social Welfare Department.

Michael Herzig, spokesperson for the department, stated of the sex booth project:

“The big difference is that until now prostitution is in a public space. Now we are going to change this, transfer it from the street, from a public to a private space to an old industrial area which belongs to the city, that give us the possibility to define the rules of prostitution in this space.”

The Zurich drive-in sex booths will include built-in panic alarms. An on-site counselor will be provided as well. The booths will be funded by taxpayers, notes The Daily Mail. Herzig added:

“The women will be better protected from attack, and it will also mean better business for them. With the women right by the sex boxes there is no ‘travel time’ so they can deal with more customers. It’s a better business model than standing on the street.”

Starting in January, prostitutes in Zurich will also have to apply for a £26 license, register with a health insurer, and purchase a £3 work ticket each night before they solicit customers.

Zurich’s idea for drive-in sex booths isn’t completely unique, as the sex boxes have already been implemented in Germany, Holland, and Belgium.

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