Prostitution in Switzerland is legal and regulated; it has been legal since Trafficking, forcing people into prostitution and most forms of pimping are illegal. One estimate puts the number of street sex workers in Zurich at In recent years the number of full service sex workers has increased. Many workers operate using newspaper advertisements, mobile phones and secondary rented apartments, some accept credit cards.
In Switzerland , prostitution has been legal since In , the sexual criminal law was revised, since then pimping and passive soliciting are no longer punishable. The Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons between Switzerland and the EU of 21 June , which was extended to Romania and Bulgaria in , resulted in an increase in the number of prostitutes in the country. In , " sex boxes " were erected in the Altstetten district of Zurich such as Strichplatz Depotweg and one street where street prostitution was allowed was closed.
As well as Federal law, individual Cantons may also make additional provisions in the form of legislation or regulations. Article of the Swiss Criminal Code is designed to combat human trafficking , [3] Article limits the power pimps can have over prostitutes. It is legal to advertise for "massages" in Swiss tabloid newspapers. Swiss sex workers are subject to taxation and social insurance contributions. Foreigners sex worker from the European Union can obtain permission to work for 90 days as a prostitute [3] if they present themselves to the city authorities, undergo a police interview, and provide proof of a health insurance plan.
Full service sex work is only legal if the seller is over 18 years of age, and it is a criminal act to pay for sex with anyone who is under 18 years old. The maximum sentence for those who pay for sex with year-old or year-old prostitutes is three years in prison. The maximum sentence for pimping anyone under 18 is ten years in prison.
The local authorities in Zurich installed carport-like constructions called Verrichtungsboxen or ' sex boxes ' to protect street based sex workers. These were been described as a "success" by local authorities after a year [14] but a number of sex workers who have seen their earnings decline, disagree. Switzerland is primarily a destination and, to a lesser extent, a transit country for women, children, and transgender people subjected to sex trafficking.
