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BROTHEL

Brothel brawl leaves man in critical state

One man is fighting for life in hospital and another is in jail following a brawl at a brothel in Thun in the canton of Bern.

Published: 19 October 2012 10:23 CEST
Brothel brawl leaves man in critical state
File image of the Obere Hauptgasse in Thun where the brothel is situated (Photo: Flickr/Thisisbossi).

Cantonal police said on Thursday that an investigation has been launched into the fight, involving three people at the bordello in the centre of the Bernese Oberland town.

Officers were notified of a punch-up in a hallway of the property on the Obere Hauptgasse in Thun on Wednesday at around 9pm.

The alleged instigator has been arrested after being treated for minor injuries and has admitted to his involvement in the altercation, police said.

Police confiscated a knife and were looking into whether it was used against the seriously injured victim.

One other man received minor injuries in the fight.

No women were reported hurt in the incident.

Investigators are still looking into the reason for the confrontation.

They are also seeking to clarify whether the man being detained was the owner of the knife, cantonal police spokesman Andreas Hoffman told the SDA news service.

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BROTHEL

Mandatory contact tracing in Zurich brothels stirs controversy

A lawyer for the Zurich sex industry is taking legal action against new tracing rules being implemented for prostitutes working in the Swiss canton.

Published: 7 October 2020 11:57 CEST
Mandatory contact tracing in Zurich brothels stirs controversy
A prostitute walks by 'sex boxes' which Zurich set for their safety. Photo by AFP

Starting on October 1st, Zurich has mandated stricter protection rules in the brothels.

Sex workers must now not only collect their customers’ ID and contact details, but also check on the spot whether the cell phone numbers provided by the clients are correct.

But Valentin Landmann, a legal counsel for Zurich’s sex work industry, filed an appeal against the new regulations, claiming they “violate the principle of equality”.

“These conditions are more extreme than in any other profession involving physical contact”, he told SRF television in an interview.

Landmann added that stricter measures are not necessary in the sex trade.

“The normal protection concepts are already being observed. So far, there have been no coronavirus cases in legal companies”.

However, Zurich authorities see it differently.

The cantonal director of security Mario Fehr told SRF that the new measures are necessary to ensure effective contact tracing, so that clients can be informed in case a coronavirus infection occurs in the brothel.

He added that if establishments fail to adhere to the requirements “we will close these businesses”.

READ MORE: Five things about Switzerland that may surprise foreign residents 

Prostitution is legal in Switzerland and considered as a ‘regular’ service industry, with the same rights and obligations as other sectors, including declaring income and paying taxes.

In May, the brothels implemented safety rules for workers and clients to reduce the risk of Covid-19 infections. 

The measures include ventilation in rooms, the use of gloves, condoms and disinfectants, and washing of sheets after each client. 

Also, sessions should be kept to a maximum of 15 minutes, and kissing – which was already rare before the measures came into place – is strongly discouraged.
 

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