Brothel roundup around the world

Immigration New Zealand is closely monitoring brothels and says it will charge them with "aiding and abetting" illegal prostitutes to remain in the country if they rent out beds to them. The agency is expecting a surge in foreign sex workers entering the country in the coming months to meet an expected increased demand during the Rugby World Cup. Although prostitution has been decriminalised, it is illegal for visitors on temporary visas, such as students and tourists, to work in the sex industry.

Under the Prostitution Reform Act 2003, only NZ citizens and people with residency can work in the sex industry.

Several brothel owners have said they plan to get around the law by treating foreign prostitutes as "tenants" rather than "contractors or employees", so they will not be responsible for the immigration status of the sex workers. But Immigration NZ is alert to this ploy.

"A brothel owner who allows a foreign national to provide commercial sexual services is aiding and abetting a person to either remain in NZ unlawfully or breach the conditions of their visa," said Steve Stuart, general manager of intelligence, risk and integrity.

Several brothels in central Auckland and on the North Shore are offering hourly room rentals "for couples" from $30. Foreign prostitutes, working illegally here, said they chose New Zealand because it was low risk.

"The worst thing that can happen if we are caught is getting sent back home," a prostitute from Seoul, South Korea said.

She said that in South Korea, where prostitution is a crime, selling sexual services could cost her a year in prison and a fine of nearly $4000.

A health worker, who did not want to be named, said the potential spread of sexually transmitted infections and HIV by foreign prostitutes was a worry.

"Unlike those coming here on proper work visas, there is no health screening for most of those who come as tourists," she said. "Many prostitutes overseas, especially those in Asia, are also more likely to not practise safe sex."

A 2009 survey of 1000 clients of female prostitutes in China found condom use in only about 40 per cent of sex transactions.

The New Zealand Prostitutes Collective said the illegal foreign sex workers who came here were predominantly Chinese and Korean.

Germany:

Germany has some 400,000 prostitutes, estimates the Berlin-based sex worker advocacy group Hydra. Each of them caters to a number of clients, which means millions of men are buying sex -- even if few of them will admit it.

Germany legalized prostitution in 2001, giving sex workers the right to job contracts, social security and public insurance. But the profession remains taboo. Sex as an "incentive" or means of bribery in the business world -- such as the corporate prostitution party for German insurance salesmen organized by Mannheimer International -- is incompatible with western values. A businessman mixed up in red-light parties can't be tolerated -- at least not officially.

"Here, that never would have happened," says one employee at a competing insurance company. "People might go to a brothel after a party, but it wouldn't be organized or paid for by the company."

Though most companies may not openly arrange such things for their employees, insiders say, the business world remains tied to the red-light industry.

"I earned the best money when I took people to brothels," says a taxi driver turned banker. The red-light establishments pay drivers a premium for bringing them patrons, who are usually in town on business, he says.

"The recent case is certainly no exception, even if the execution was unusual," says Klaus-J. Eisner of www.eventmanager.de a web portal for the events industry. "The fact that bordello visits are used as rewards can be observed at every trade fair."

Sex as a business incentive is "widespread," confirms Mechthild Eickel, who works for a sex worker educational association called Madonna. "It's in every branch, it's just that not every company can afford it."

Meanwhile corporate orgies have grown in popularity. There are agencies that specialize in organizing events similar to the Mannheimer International sex party in Budapest. Larger escort services will also make such arrangements.

While conventional event planning agencies don't explicitly advertise similar offerings, Klaus-J. Eisner of eventmanager.de says he is certain that "many professional agencies would be in a position to organize such an occasion."

The industry resists the image, though. Uwe A. Kohrs, an executive committee member of the Society of Public Relations Agencies (GPRA) and head of communications agency "impact," says it seems unlikely that buying prostitutes could nurture contacts between companies -- or that serious PR firms or event organizers might offer such services.

"Generally the distribution of benefits is handled with extreme restrictions," he says. "That almost excludes even treating someone to a meal. Naturally there are black sheep -- but sex in the context of business? It's not an issue."

Madonna's Mechthild Eickel disagrees. "It's common," she says.

USA: Rarely does a perfectly legal business get so much scrutiny. But when the business is a brothel, traditions melt away. Now, the most recognized name in brothels is expanding closer to Las Vegas and trying to legitimize prostitution.

The big personality of Dennis Hof from the cable TV show Cathouse is in southern Nevada, speaking his mind to say his working girls could fix the economic problems of Las Vegas.

When you talk to Hof, you get a sense he might not like Las Vegas. He calls the town "a disgusting cesspool of sex," not exactly what you would expect from a guy whose business is prostitution.

Hof's highly successful TV show at the northern Nevada Bunny Ranch gives him a unique perspective on the sex trade, and hearing stories of life on the street -- tales of the traffickers and illegal escorts.

So when he does the research, he says why not take the sex out of the shadows and come to Crystal, Nevada, 20 minutes north of Pahrump, to the Love Ranch. There, you'll find safe, clean women like Cami Parker.

Parker decided to put a career as a writer and journalist on hold to come here and make six figures and more with Hof. She also hears the stories of girls working the street.

"It's terrible, the things that can happen to you when you go about it the wrong way," she said.

Which is what makes Hof different. He bought the run down property and wants to do away with the dank wood paneling and the windowless past.

Hof also purchased the other brothel property in Crystal. It's in such bad shape, he's going to bulldoze it and bring in Heidi Fleiss to help redesign it.

Brothels in the past have asked to have their taxes raised. Right now, Pahrump taxes go to pay for emergency care and a fund for veterans.

Unlike the other brothels, Hof says he runs open-ended contracts with the women. The old way forced the girls to stay for weeks at a time without leaving or free will.

"We have a certain amount of rooms. You want to work three days? Great. Work three days. You want to work 33 days? Great," he said.

Hof knows politics may be on his side. Take Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's recent comments at the state legislature calling on a ban of prostitution.

"A couple freshman senators clapped and then they realized, 'Uh oh.' Nobody wanted to hear it," said Hof.

And perhaps time is the only factor until he gets what he wants -- a move into Las Vegas. His plan would legitimize what is a crime everywhere else, cutting off the traffickers and pimps and escorts at the source.

"Go in any casino after midnight and see what's going on," he said.

He says the plan would end the shadow economy, raising millions in taxes. It is a taboo everywhere else, just not in Nevada.

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