BERN, Switzerland, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- A study by a Swiss social worker suggests prostitution is safer for sex workers and customers when it is treated as a profession.
Eva Buschi, a professor at the School of Social Work of the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, said her research found the country's lack of regulation was a major problem for both sex workers and the sex establishments.
"In other businesses workers get contracts, in which the tasks to be performed, the price and how long they should take are clearly laid down. In the sex business today this is mostly not the case," she told Swissinfo.ch.
The study suggests proper working conditions would help prevent violence by customers.
Swissinfo.ch said new requirements for brothels in the Swiss city of Nidau could be a model for the rest of the country. Brothel managers in Nidau are required to guarantee that the women are declared as sex workers and that they are in the country legally. They must also provide the women with information leaflets in their own languages about their rights and their duty to declare their earnings for taxes.
