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More Chinese women are being smuggled to Germany as sex workers— willingly: What's this new trend?

Police say the pattern of activity differs from the more familiar exploitation of Asian women by global trafficking networks that trap victims in debt bondage read more A growing number of Chinese women are travelling to Germany to work in the sex trade, police say, often arriving on forged residential permits and operating outside the reach of human trafficking laws. Unlike victims forced into sex slavery, these women are said to be entering the country voluntarily, drawn by the promise of higher earnings and relative anonymity. Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office and Federal Police, in a joint report issued on July 28, described the phenomenon as an emerging trend, though they provided no figures. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The women typically enter the country on falsified permits issued by other European Union member states, allowing them to move freely within the bloc. Others without such documents are smuggled through the Balkan region, often hidden in vans, and then transported to Germany with the assistance of local gangs, Nikkei Asia reported. Police say the pattern of activity differs from the more familiar exploitation of Asian women by global trafficking networks that trap victims in debt bondage. According to the report, the Chinese women work under short-term arrangements in 'appointment apartments'– discreet flats that function as brothels but are rarely marked as such. Two or three women often share one apartment, with the operators providing the premises, advertising online, and taking a 50 percent share of the earnings. 'Suspicion of human trafficking cannot generally be substantiated,' the report noted, because the women arrive with knowledge of the work, function largely independently, and retain a substantial portion of their income. In Germany, prostitution is legal and regulated, although working without valid papers leaves the women vulnerable to police action and deportation. The Federal Criminal Police Office declined to elaborate on the scale of the increase, referring questions to the Federal Police, which did not respond to a request for comment. Yet industry insiders say the rise is evident. Stephanie Klee, a spokeswoman for the brothel operators' association BSD, said that advertisements for Mandarin-speaking women from mainland China and Hong Kong have become common on sex trade websites. Many of the women, she said, depend on contacts who arrange airport pickups, housing, and working conditions. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Klee attributed the influx to financial incentives and the ability to earn abroad without public shame at home. 'Germany is considered a wealthy country,' she said, 'and there is also the hope of avoiding discrimination in their home country by spreading the lie that they have worked in a hotel or in health care overseas.' She added that the women are popular not only among Chinese clients but also among older German men, who view them as respectful to elders. Complaints from licensed brothels have spurred police operations, although Klee doubts the raids' impact. Apartments often reopen in the same location, sometimes with the same workers, if the women avoid detection. Those caught without valid visas can have their earnings seized, be deported, and receive passport stamps barring reentry. Chinese involvement in Germany's sex trade drew public attention after a raid on the Pascha brothel in Cologne last year. A Chinese investor had purchased the 11-story building, reputed to be the largest brothel in Europe, in 2021. In April 2023, more than 1,000 police officers stormed the premises, saying the address had been used by a smuggling network to secure fraudulent German permits for wealthy Chinese and Omani citizens. The brothel was later seized by prosecutors and is now under German management. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The police report suggests that the trade in Chinese sex workers is shifting from the shadows of forced exploitation toward a model in which participants enter by choice, albeit through illicit channels. For authorities, the distinction complicates enforcement, and for the women, it leaves them balanced between opportunity and risk.