https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Switzerland in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed More and more sex workers in Bern are renting apartments through apartment sites like Airbnb or using hotel rooms to carry out their business, according to a new report on prostitution in the Swiss capital. https://www.thelocal.ch/20180928/sex-workers-renting-airbnb-apartments-in-swiss-capital-report Fri, 28 Sep 2018 12:39:23 +0200 sex-workers-renting-airbnb-apartments-in-swiss-capital-report Five years after it was introduced, Zurich’s sex drive-in has been declared a success in terms of safety. https://www.thelocal.ch/20180822/zurichs-sex-boxes-for-prostitutes-given-official-thumbs-up Wed, 22 Aug 2018 22:39:16 +0200 zurichs-sex-boxes-for-prostitutes-given-official-thumbs-up Some 80 women from Thailand were trafficked to Switzerland and forced into prostitution from 2011 to 2014, an investigation by Switzerland’s public prosecutor has concluded. https://www.thelocal.ch/20161101/thai-women-forced-into-prostitution-in-switzerland Tue, 01 Nov 2016 10:06:36 +0100 thai-women-forced-into-prostitution-in-switzerland A firm in Geneva plans to open a café where customers can enjoy oral sex while they sip their morning coffee. Not everyone is happy with the idea. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160623/geneva-to-get-cafe-fellatio-by-end-of-year Thu, 23 Jun 2016 15:35:09 +0200 geneva-to-get-cafe-fellatio-by-end-of-year Prostitutes in Switzerland are regularly using vehicles owned by carsharing firm Mobility to have sex with clients, Swiss media report. The company is unfazed. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160615/swiss-carsharing-vehicles-used-by-prostitutes Wed, 15 Jun 2016 13:57:39 +0200 swiss-carsharing-vehicles-used-by-prostitutes Zurich could open a municipal brothel if a proposal by a left-wing politician gets the go-ahead. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160425/council-funded-brothel-touted-for-zurich Mon, 25 Apr 2016 12:00:56 +0200 council-funded-brothel-touted-for-zurich More than 700 foreign strippers received a special Swiss work permit in 2015, the last issued in a controversial programme that expires on January 1st, the immigration office said on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20151230/switzerland-scraps-stripper-visa-scheme-prostitution Wed, 30 Dec 2015 13:28:41 +0100 switzerland-scraps-stripper-visa-scheme-prostitution A 19-year-old woman from Kosovo who claims she was forced into prostitution and kept as a sex slave in a cellar in Switzerland for almost three years has sought asylum in Austria. https://www.thelocal.ch/20141031/kosovan-sex-slave-flees-switzerland-for-austria Fri, 31 Oct 2014 13:00:00 +0100 kosovan-sex-slave-flees-switzerland-for-austria A Geneva massage parlour is appealing to Switzerland’s highest court over a 1,000-franc ($1,138) fine it received for advertising oral sex services without the use of a condom. https://www.thelocal.ch/20140410/condoms-required-for-oral-sex-in-geneva-parlors Thu, 10 Apr 2014 13:52:00 +0200 condoms-required-for-oral-sex-in-geneva-parlors The Bern cantonal prosecutor’s office says it has charged a 52-year-old Swiss-Thai woman for human trafficking and exploiting 25 sex trade workers from Thailand. https://www.thelocal.ch/20140321/bern-authorities-crack-thai-human-trafficking-ring Fri, 21 Mar 2014 17:04:00 +0100 bern-authorities-crack-thai-human-trafficking-ring Five members of Zurich police department’s vice squad allegedly passed on confidential information to people involved with prostitution in exchange for sexual services, food and and drink, the prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20131113/zurich-vice-squad-cops-accepted-sex-for-tip-offs Wed, 13 Nov 2013 21:38:00 +0100 zurich-vice-squad-cops-accepted-sex-for-tip-offs The town of Payerne, population 9,500, may not be a household name as a Swiss tourist destination but it has gained notoriety locally as an attraction for its massage parlours — 30 of them, according to one count. https://www.thelocal.ch/20131104/town-battles-booming-sex-parlour-business Mon, 04 Nov 2013 10:33:00 +0100 town-battles-booming-sex-parlour-business The Swiss lower house of parliament voted on Tuesday to raise the legal prostitution age from 16 to 18, tightening the country's liberal sex-trade laws to bring them in line with European standards. https://www.thelocal.ch/20130910/swiss-mps-raise-legal-age-for-prostitutes-to-18 Tue, 10 Sep 2013 22:07:00 +0200 swiss-mps-raise-legal-age-for-prostitutes-to-18 Switzerland's first sex drive-in, aimed at creating a safer space for Zurich's sex workers and taking prostitution off the streets, opened for business on Monday to a big fanfare, but few customers. https://www.thelocal.ch/20130827/zurichs-drive-in-sex-boxes-off-to-slow-start Tue, 27 Aug 2013 14:20:00 +0200 zurichs-drive-in-sex-boxes-off-to-slow-start As the Swiss city of Zurich opens the country's first sex drive-in to better regulate prostitution and move the sex trade outside the city centre, residents, politicians and sex workers remain divided over the scheme. https://www.thelocal.ch/20130825/zurich-divided-as-sex-drive-in-opens-its-doors Sun, 25 Aug 2013 11:05:00 +0200 zurich-divided-as-sex-drive-in-opens-its-doors The Swiss city of Zurich is to open a sex drive-in on Monday approved by voters to help get prostitution off the streets. Similar initiatives exist in Germany and Italy, while Belgium and the Netherlands have come up with a different approach. Here are some examples. https://www.thelocal.ch/20130825/european-experiments-with-sex-drive-ins Sun, 25 Aug 2013 11:04:00 +0200 european-experiments-with-sex-drive-ins The city of Zurich on Thursday unveiled a sex drive-in which local authorities say will enable them to keep closer tabs on prostitution, a year after voters backed the plan. https://www.thelocal.ch/20130815/zurich-unveils-drive-in-sex-boxes-for-prostitutes Thu, 15 Aug 2013 23:05:00 +0200 zurich-unveils-drive-in-sex-boxes-for-prostitutes A 56-year-old Chinese woman who ran two massage parlours in Geneva remains in custody for alleged encouragement of prostitution, money laundering, violation of the law on foreigners and other charges. https://www.thelocal.ch/20130814/massage-parlours-employed-illegal-chinese-prostitutes Wed, 14 Aug 2013 12:35:00 +0200 massage-parlours-employed-illegal-chinese-prostitutes Drive-in sex boxes will be opening in an industrial area of Zurich next summer as city officials attempt to put a lid on prostitution in downtown red-light districts. https://www.thelocal.ch/20121127/zurich-sex-boxes-to-open-next-year Tue, 27 Nov 2012 12:35:00 +0100 zurich-sex-boxes-to-open-next-year In the latest of a series of raids, Ticino cantonal police have shut down a bordello operating with illegal prostitutes from Romania, aided by law enforcement officials from that country. https://www.thelocal.ch/20121026/prostitutes-caught-red-handed-in-ticino Fri, 26 Oct 2012 11:57:00 +0200 prostitutes-caught-red-handed-in-ticino