Hydra (association)
Hydra e. V. is a German self-help group and advocacy for prostitutes . The non-profit association , which calls itself the “ whore organization ”, was founded in 1980 by interested women as practically the first German organization of the whore movement . The club name refers to the hydra , a nine-headed sea monster in Greek mythology.
purpose
Since 1985 Hydra has also been financed with public funds, so that a permanent advice center could be set up in Berlin. Among other things, there is information on health issues, especially AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases . In addition to the counseling center, Hydra conducts lobbying and public relations work to improve the legal and social situation of prostitutes. The purposes of the association are according to its statutes
- promoting the social protection and cultural integration of prostitutes,
- promoting vocational training for prostitutes to help them switch to other professions.
Some of the employees at Hydra have their own prostitution experience. Association membership is only possible for women, while supporting membership is also open to men.
history
Beginnings
The foundation of the association goes back to the venereal diseases advice center of the Berlin-Charlottenburg health department, which existed in 1915 , where the idea of an autonomous prostitute organization arose in 1979. In order to be able to provide more effective and continuous help to prostitutes who came to the counseling center because of the Bockschein , at the end of 1979 the social workers, lawyers, doctors, teachers and psychologists working there became the “Association for the Promotion of Vocational and Cultural Education for Female Prostitutes e. V. “founded. The aim was to provide practical help for prostitutes and to counteract their social discrimination. In July 1980 four of those involved opened the "Café Hydra" together with 10 female students in a seminar on prostitution at the Free University of Berlin in Spielhagenstrasse in Berlin-Charlottenburg. The contact and advice shop was the first of its kind in Germany. In the autumn of 1980, two more social worker interns were added, so that a large number of working groups could be offered in addition to regular opening times. The rent was paid for by a foundation for two years; Otherwise the project was financed through donations except for one position financed by the “self-help initiative network” for half a year. In the spring of 1981 it was decided to occupy a house to improve the spatial situation . With the support of the social-educational institute of the Arbeiterwohlfahrt , an empty house at Potsdamer Strasse 139 in Berlin could legally be moved into and the renovation started. In the winter, several of the committed women withdrew for professional reasons, so that the future of the project was unclear. One of the Hydra initiators gave the impetus for further development with plans for her own newspaper and a Christmas party. In February 1982 work was resumed. In addition to a monthly donation of 200 DM, an event in August raised 2000 DM, which could be used to finance running costs and other activities. The magazine Hydra-Nachtexpress was published and contacts to prostitution projects in Hamburg and Lyon were established. Internal disputes and upcoming renovation work meant that the project moved to an empty apartment on Leibnizstrasse in the spring of 1983.
The funds already approved for 1983 by the Berlin Senate for two fee positions and the establishment of a café could not initially be paid out because no suitable premises could be found. In 1984, after a phase of uncertainty, a modified application for a counseling center with two half-staff positions was applied for and approved at the end of October 1984. At the end of 1984, we were able to move into offices in Kantstrasse and regular opening times began in January 1985.
Establishment
One focus of the association's work soon became information about the immunodeficiency disease AIDS , which at that time was not known to the public or was only known as a disease among gays (see AIDS help ). In addition, the employees made contact with the authorities and authorities, which turned out to be very tedious in most cases due to prejudices and fear of contact - for example when asking employment offices for support in integrating prostitutes into the rest of the labor market. In August 1985, an article about Hydra appeared in Spiegel magazine , which made the project known beyond Berlin. At the end of October 1985, the first national whores congress was organized together with the initiative Huren defend themselves (HWG e.V.), which had meanwhile been founded in Frankfurt . From the summer of 1985 onwards, the topic of AIDS appeared in the media with increasing frequency. As part of AIDS education and prevention in cooperation with the Berlin State Institute for Tropical Medicine, two additional positions were approved from December 1985. The association was increasingly perceived as an expert on AIDS, for example at a public hearing in 1986 in the Bundestag on the topic of AIDS. Although the education among prostitutes had an effect, the acceptance of condoms among suitors was very difficult to enforce. Therefore, Hydra called for the education not only among the so-called risk groups, but to include the entire population. In the spring of 1986 there were talks with the then Senator for Health and Social Affairs of the State of Berlin, Ulf Fink , who promised further support. In 1986, Hydra took part in a Senate awareness campaign and took part in three other prostitute congresses.
- Political lobbying to abolish the Venereal Diseases Act. Although the Greens heard the proposals for amendments to the anti-discrimination law, they were postponed for the time being due to the principle of rotation.
- 1987 Conversation with Senator Fink and various other meetings and conversations on the topic that there were still too few opportunities for prostitutes who were willing to leave.
- May 1987 Participation in the 4th National Prostitute Congress in Munich
Other activities: Advice on getting into and out of prostitution - gradually increasing awareness as a real representation of interests, legal advice
- Further projects e.g. B. Exhibition in pharmacies on the subject of condoms, demonstrations, advertising for the use of condoms, education about the life situation of prostitutes, invitations to numerous events, hearings.
- November 1987: 5th National Prostitute Congress in Hamburg
- End of 1987: Charity ball to set up an aid fund for prostitutes (in the ICC)
- October 1991: 1st European Whore Congress
- March 1992: Second whore ball
- November 1992: Relocation to Rigaer Strasse
- March 8, 1994: prostitute strike
- 2002: Prostitution Act (ProstG)
- 2005: To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Hydra took part in the Carnival of Cultures , an exhibition "25 Years of Hydra" was organized
Topics of the night express: news, interviews, reports on the situation of prostitutes in other countries, exit options,
activities
Once a year (up to around 2005 twice a year) the association, together with other organizations, organizes the specialist conference on prostitution , which took place in October 2004 for the 35th time. The event originally began as a nationwide "whores congress" by and for prostitutes; meanwhile, representatives from advice centers and health authorities are also taking part. As part of the specialist conference, a legal working group was formed that meets twice a year. At the international level there are comparable meetings at irregular intervals.
From 1980 to 1995, Hydra published its own magazine , the HYDRA-Nachtexpress ("newspaper for bar, brothel and curb") , which is now published as a leaflet alongside other information materials.
Under the direction of the author Rochus Hahn from the Schwarzer Turm publishing house , the comic series Whore Stories , developed from interviews with Hydra members, is published , which, according to Hydra, depicts the life and work of prostitutes in a very realistic manner.
Related organizations and initiatives
There are around a dozen counseling centers for prostitutes in Germany. Hydra inspired the founding of the Frankfurt initiative “Whores fight back together” (HWG) and other self-help groups. The Bochum association Madonna supports prostitutes in getting out and arranges retraining. For callboys there is the working group of male sex projects in Germany .
In Austria there is the “SILA” advice center. There are also various institutions in Switzerland. Internationally, interest groups and advice centers are organized in the Network of Sex Work Projects founded in 1991 .
criticism
Most of the criticism of the work of Hydra is based on a fundamental rejection of prostitution as a recognized profession. It is criticized that Hydra downplaying and promoting prostitution, which could collide with the protection of minors , for example . It was also said that Hydra is primarily committed to the interests of brothel owners. It is further argued that the recognition of prostitution leads to an increase in the area of forced prostitution as well. This is countered by the fact that there is no evidence of this, and that the opposite effect can just as easily be assumed. As a lobby group, the association naturally takes a partisan stance on prostitution. The magazine Emma criticized that Hydra does not represent the actual interests of prostitutes, since according to their information a maximum of 0.01% of prostitutes are organized and the association only represents part of the whore movement . Hydra contradicted the representation that prostitution for women is an involuntary sex business per se. In an open letter, the association pointed out that Alice Schwarzer's idea of communication between customer and service provider was an “absolute caricature”.
Prominent members
Pieke Biermann (writer)
See also
literature
- Prostitute project Hydra (Ed.): Profession: Whore . Galgenberg, 1988, ISBN 3-925387-38-2
- Prostitute Project Hydra (Ed.): Freier. The secret goings-on of men , 1994
- Richard Rabensaat: The order of desires In: Friday of August 2, 2002 [1]
- 25 years of Hydra . In: taz Berlin local from June 29, 2005, p. 23 [2]
- Friederike Strack: A quarter of a century Hydra . In: Elisabeth von Dücker (Ed.): Sex work. Prostitution - lifeworld and myths . Edition Temmen, 2005, ISBN 3-86108-542-9
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Carl Bruhns : On the opening of the municipal advice center for sexually transmitted diseases in Charlottenburg. In: Zschr. Closed krkh. Volume 16, 1915/16, pp. 333-342; see. also Albert Citron: Something about the nature and value of the counseling center for venereal patients. In: Medical Clinic. Volume 17, 1921, p. 302 f.
- ↑ Mira Sigel: When women betray women: The girls' team and sex work .
- ↑ Emma . January / February 2007, page 86 ff. (Prostitution dossier)
- ↑ Sperrbezirke and Alice Schwarzer hotly controversial , n24.de from November 15, 2013.
- ↑ People at Maischberger: Whether cheap sex or noble puff: Get rid of prostitution! (March 13, 2012) (PDF; 111 kB), hydra-berlin.de.