Prohibited Sexual Behavior and Sexual Violence

Prostitution: Female Prostitution: Establishments

Brothels

A brothel or bordello is an indoor establishment run for the purpose of prostitution. It may be housed in an apartment, in a group of trailers, or in a whole small or large building. In some countries, brothels are legal and openly advertised, in others they are illegal and therefore run unobtrusively in “secret” locations (usually well known to the police). In some large cities, brothels may be confined to so-called “red-light districts“.
The working conditions in a brothel can range from virtual slavery to regular employment with adequate income. In some cases, the brothel is nothing more than regular appartment where several women work together and receive their customers. Some large brothels (called “Eros Centers” in Germany) merely rent their premises to self-employed prostitutes. This arrangement is mostly found in or near large cities. In any case, the owners always profit most, because the rent is quite high. On the other hand, the women have the advantage of enjoying some protection from abusive customers.
In recent years, some new types of brothels have developed:  Large, luxurious “wellness” clubs with movie screens, swimming pools and saunas accommodating several hundred customers at the same time. A general entry fee includes free food and non-alcoholic beverages. The men can simply relax, but also meet nude women on the premises with whom they can negotiate some private sexual service and then retire to a separate room. The women are independent operators and are paid directly. Large establishments like this have been called “mega brothels”.
Another, rather unique brothel in a large European city offers its customers the free services of its women if they agree to be filmed during their sexual activity. The films are made accessible to paying internet viewers and are also sold as videos or DVDs. The profits support the whole enterprise.

Web site of a “mega brothel”
In many European countries, brothels openly advertise in the internet. The example shown here is an excerpt from the large home page of a very large brothel. (In order to avoid easy identification, the name and the design have been changed. However, the text is authentic.)