It is surprisingly commonplace to find online visitors? guide that promote the idea of the legal prostitution in Germany.  While actively soliciting on behalf of a prostitute, commonly referred to as "pimping", is still illegal, the act of prostitution itself is not.  While individual communities do have the privilege to restrict the ladies of the night when it comes to locations for their trade, many have chosen to turn a blind eye.  When it comes to sex, Dresden is no exception.  Paid sex is a steady stream of revenue for the working girls as well as the city itself, since prostitution is a taxable trade. Of course, while the oldest profession of the world might be legal, for a working girl, Dresden is not the hoped for land of milk and honey.  As a matter of fact, because of the industry that deals in sex, Dresden - perhaps not on the whole, but most certainly in part- has gained a reputation of being somewhat seedy.

Consider for example the fact that a working girl, Dresden resident or not, has no recourse if after performance of the sex act the customer refuses to pay.  On the other hand, should she refuse to perform after being paid, the customer does indeed have a case to sue her.  This double standard has done little to improve the ladies' social standing or help them to receive legal protection against rape. Nonetheless, for paid sex, Dresden appears to have become a magnet.  Women from across Europe have begun to flock to this city to ply their trade.  It is uncertain exactly why they are lured to this location as opposed to others, yet the precarious legal standing of prostitutes notwithstanding, it appears that young Hungarian women have taken the lead in entering Germany illegally to work as prostitutes in and around Dresden.

It is a sad fact that prostitutes as young as sixteen years of age are selling their bodies for sex; Dresden is not a kind city for these young and vulnerable girls who are not yet old enough to have a driver's license. Since it is illegal for them to work in the cheap brothels which are referred to as Eros Centers, they have no choice but to ply their trade alongside the highways and byways of commerce, the Autobahn.  Other locations that may be a congregating point for these kids are the train stations and side streets.

When it comes to paid sex, Dresden features the hotly advertised highway to Prague.  This stretch of highway is host to a huge number of brothels and independent streetwalkers who offer to sell their bodies either indoors or at any one of the many rest stops along the way. While those who believe that the legalization of prostitution is an answer to what ails a country of community believe that Dresden makes their point, it is a rather shocking fact that while decriminalized, the stigma of prostitution is still attached to the individual woman yet not the client who visits her.  Furthermore, women who are receiving unemployment benefits are now coerced into prostitution under the threat of losing their benefits if they will not accept a posted position as a prostitute - after all, it is a legal job!