Federal Minister for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Karin Prien has convened an independent commission of experts to improve the protection of prostitutes (Prostitute Protection Commission) in order to improve the situation of people working in prostitution. Prof. Dr. Matthias C. Kettemann will advise on online protection in sex work and the role of platforms.
In a press release (available in German) dated November 24, 2025, Federal Minister Karin Prien stated: “The debates of the past few weeks have once again made it clear that we urgently need to improve the situation of people working in prostitution. The fight against forced prostitution, human trafficking, and violence is a particularly important concern for the federal government. That is why I have convened the independent expert commission on the protection of prostitutes. Based on the evaluation report on the Prostitute Protection Act and the expertise gathered there, the commission will develop recommendations that will enable politicians to make well-founded and objectively justified decisions on the protection of prostitutes.”
Commission Objectives
The Commission will develop specific action plans for the federal government, states, and municipalities to improve the protection of sex workers from coercion and exploitation. To this end, the Commission will address issues related to the evaluation of the Prostitute Protection Act (ProstSchG) by the Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony, with the aim of achieving the greatest possible protection for prostitutes.
The commission will develop legal and non-legal proposals to improve the protection of prostitutes.
Time Frame
Proposals for legal measures will be presented within twelve months and proposals for non-legal measures within eighteen months.
Composition of the Commission
The Prostitute Protection Commission consists of twelve experts from various fields and disciplines. Prof. Dr. Tillmann Bartsch chairs the Commission. The other members are: Dr. Angelika Allgayer, Dr. Elke Bartels, Dr. Katrin Baumhauer, Helga Gayer, Dr. Stefanie Killinger, Jörg Makel, Mark Mrusek, Prof. Dr. Gregor Thüsing, Maike van Ackern, and Stefan Willkomm.
Further information is available at www.bmbfsfj.bund.de/en.