Sex Boxes in Zurich

The Frau almost made the international news on Monday night when an editor at The Wall Street Journal contacted her to discuss Zurich’s latest development in prostitution: the sex boxes in Zurich Alstetten. These opened for the first time on Monday night, giving prostitutes a legal place to do their business. If you haven’t seen photos of them, imagine a bunch of Swiss bus stops made out of wood and put in a line back to back. Or see a photo and read more about them here.

Anyway, why The Frau of all people was contacted to talk about prostitution in Zurich is yet to be determined, but in any case, she missed her chance since it was her “big mom night out” and she was swimming at Zurich’s Hallenbad.

But it got her thinking about Zurich’s new sex boxes and stark difference in the way the Swiss have reacted to them in comparison with the rest of the world.

On Monday, the topic of Swiss sex boxes was featured in about every paper around the world—with the exception many Swiss ones. Even Blick am Abend, the local Swiss tabloid that loves sex like no other newspaper, had no mention of the sex boxes in its Monday evening edition. Instead, Lady Gaga graced the cover.

The NZZ, the Zurich equivalent of The Wall Street Journal, had an article about the sex boxes—but it was regarding the rest of the world’s fascination with them.

Here’s the thing, Rest Of The World: For the Swiss, sex boxes aren’t a new discussion. They are a practical solution to an old problem.  While the rest of the world is making jokes or pushing taboo problems further under the rug, the Swiss are making both their own neighborhoods and the world’s oldest profession safer.

The Swiss are matter-a-fact and realistic. They engineer everything—even prostitution. While the rest of the world is tittering over this so-called “taboo topic” like teenagers, the Swiss have moved on to conquering the next one through referendums.

To the Swiss way of thinking—people will do “taboo” things no matter what. Better to legalize them and make them safe then pretend they don’t exist or spend millions putting people in prison for them. There's a reason there isn't much crime in Switzerland. It's because the Swiss give people safe places to do so-called illicit things. As a foreigner in Switzerland, The Frau can’t vote. But if she could, it would give a big “yes” to most of these progressive ideas. Yes- Give the prostitutes beds with policemen and social workers nearby. Yes- Give the druggies clean needs. And yes- Give the people who want to die access to the drugs to be able to do so. 

What do you think of Switzerland's legal activities?