German prostitute law gets support

BERLIN, Germany -- A government-proposed law to give prostitutes labour rights similar to other professions has received tacit cross-party support in the German parliament.

Prostitution is allowed in Germany, but the law proposed by the Social Democrats and Greens parties would remove its status as "immoral."

It would also enable prostitutes to receive social security benefits or sue customers who refuse to pay.

The governing centre-left coalition and the conservative opposition agreed during the bill's first reading on Friday that prostitutes deserve a better legal and social status.

The Christian Democrats, the main conservative opposition party, warned against making "prostitution a normal job" and said lawmakers "should not carelessly give up" moral values.

But their speaker, Ilse Falk, stopped short of opposing the bill, which also was supported by the small opposition Free Democrats.

Prostitute advocacy groups have urged lawmakers to take a further step and classify prostitution as a trade.

About 400,000 women work as prostitutes in Germany, half of them foreigners.

German Government

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