I was caught in a Gewitter (thunderstorm) while walking home last night, and ended up standing under awnings and overhangs for about 30 minutes waiting for the rain to pass. Joining me on the street were numerous well-dressed prostitutes who stood under umbrellas every block or so.
In certain areas around Berlin, including around my apartment building and around Hackescher Markt in Mitte – one of the trendiest and most touristy areas in central Berlin – prostitutes are ubiquitous in the evening hours. They generally look to be Eastern European, appear young and relatively upscale, and aggressively pursue men (especially tourists) who walk by or drive up in cars to check out the “wares.”
Prostitution is legal in Berlin and, unlike some other German cities, Berlin has no areas set aside for prostitutes. Once you get used to it, they blend in to the landscape and seem completely harmless. In light of prostitution’s legalization, I wonder how the question of prostitutes’ exploitation vs. their “freedom” to work as they please has been addressed here. Evidently, brothels and individual prostitutes must be registered here like any other business, which may provide some protection against human trafficking. But whether prostitution is ever truly freely chosen is another question.
