Thread by @EllyArrow

Germany has lost the plot on #prostitution so completely that we are seriously after 20 years of legal free-for-all for sex buyers debating whether maybe letting them gang-bang women in a state of advanced pregnancy might be just slightly medically and ethically questionable? 🤦‍♀️

And I'm pissed off at both sides here because the right is only interested in this because they care about unborn children, i.e. they're also currently restricting our abortion rights, and the left just cares about men's pleasure and pretending that it equates to women's freedom.

But the #prostitution of heavily pregnant women is not a matter of personal opinion. And it's also entirely unrelated to questions of sexual agency, e.g. when a pregnant woman chooses to have sex for her own pleasure or sex to help induce labour. It's simply extremely dangerous.

We're talking about heavily pregnant women being penetrated by 3-20 men per day to make rent. In the case of "gang bangs" (gang rapes), it may be even more. This has got nothing to do with a pregnant woman having sex with a casual or committed partner because she feels like it.

From the testimony to parliament by German gynaecologist Dr. Wolfgang Heide: "My patient was 22 weeks pregnant and unable to obtain unemployment benefits. She had to go through 3 different courts until she was granted benefits to stop #prostitution." bundestag.de/resource/blob/…

"There are no prostitution specific studies, but we have 200 current studies on the impact of psychological stress during pregnancy and the associated risks for mother and child." Here's from a family ministry study into psychological distress of women in #prostitution:

In theory, Germany has very strict laws to protect pregnant women. We are not applying them to #prostitution, because they cannot be applied. Women in the sex trade have fewer rights than women everywhere else! Let that sink in.

Protections for pregnant women in German workplaces: 1) location must be safe (brothels are not! dieunsichtbarenmaenner.wordpress.com/establishments/), 2) must be able to sit and rest anytime (she has to see 3 men to make rent money), 3) cannot lift heavy things (buyers heavy bodies).
graviditas.net/schwangerschaf…

4) no exposure to harmful chemicals (brothels are full of cigarette smoke, alcohol, drugs, disinfectant, etc.) 5) may not work longer than 8.5 hours (shifts in brothels can be 12h+), 6) no night shifts (although lunchtime is busiest, brothels, of course, have night shifts).

7) During pregnancy and four months after a woman cannot be fired. But women in #prostitution are 99% independent contractors and can be gotten rid of more easily than if they were full employees. If they don't make money, brothels kick them out.

Dr. Heide reports: "Gang bangs with 30+ men and a heavily pregnant woman costs just 30€ (drinks included). The women who come into my practice say: 'We don't tell you the worst that happens to us.' But we know of 'sex games' with faecal matter involving pregnant women."

German gynaecologist working with women in #prostitution: "What we're seeing is nearly unbearable. The well-being of mother and child is our charge, but how can we do that, when the woman has to see 15-40 sex buyers per day."

German gynaecologist: "The risk of contracting STIs during early pregnancy is increased in #prostitution! For example: Syphilis can be passed to the fetus and lead to miscarriage or severe fetal injury. Same with gonorrhoea." Protecting pregnant women has to start early not late!

German gynaecologist: "A pregnant woman despite wearing gloves may not come in contact with dangerous substances, including blood, but it is legal that she should have to have intercourse with up to 30 sex buyers per day?" This treats prostituted women as second class humans.

German gynaecologist: "The reality for pregnant prostitutes in Germany: Some don't even have health insurance. Some keep their pregnancy secret for fearing violence from pimps or for losing customers and to avoid pregnancy fetishists. 3 days after birth they are back at 'work'."

German gynaecologist: "Women in #prostitution who come into my practice are giving up their children for adoption. A catastrophic & depressing impact on the mother." These are the children removed from mothers the pro-sex-trade-lobby isnt talking about. This happens all the time.

German gynaecologist: "A prostituted woman had just given birth. She had the usual injuries, vaginal and perineal tears, still bleeding and experiencing pain. It can take months to heal. She asked me to help her get back to 'work' after 3 days because she had debts to pay off."

German gynaecologist: "The sex buyers are not careful with pregnant women. The women say that they're quite brutal. Having to see 15-30 men after just giving birth can cause lasting injury, including permanent incontinence. This doesn't even cover the psychological harms."

German gynaecologist: "Some prostituted women aren't using contraceptives because they cannot afford them. The women are happy when we gift the ibuprofen because they are used to constant abdominal pain. They notice the pregnancy too late, unwanted ones can no longer be aborted."

The report goes on, but I'm exhausted and heartbroken. So I'll repeat myself and say: Germany treats women in #prostitution as second class human beings by giving them fewer protections than women in any other job in the name of "sexual" and "occupational freedom". Shame on us.

For those who think #decrim may be the solution: The idea behind #fulldecrim is the decrease not increase of prostitution specific regulations. Pregnant women in the sex trade need protections SOONER than women in other jobs, #fulldecrim won't do this.

We need a fund so that women in the sex trade who have little employment protections cause they're "independent contractors" or who have precarious immigration status can take breaks or exit any time. Not just the pregnant women. ALL women. But we won't get it with #sexworkiswork