Basel: Government bans brothel posters
Advertising for sexual services is no longer permitted on public property in Basel-Stadt. On Tuesday, the government approved a corresponding amendment to the billboard ordinance. The move was prompted by a motion from the Social Democratic Party (SP) that was passed by the Grand Council.
The amendment could "at least partially prevent the population from being confronted with billboard advertising that predominantly portrays women as sex objects for sale and thus contributes to discriminatory gender and role stereotypes", the government explained its decision.
Offering sexual services such as prostitution or "escort services" is permitted nationwide. The Grand Councillor's suit was upset by the large posters put up by relevant establishments in the canton, which "address a large audience". Children are thus confronted with the topic without being asked.
Posters on private property unmolested
The ordinance only applies to posters that are put up on public land; it does not apply to billboards on private land or walls. Around two thirds of all billboards in the canton of Basel-Stadt are currently on public land and one third on private land.
According to the Allmendverwaltung, brothel posters on Basel's Allmend could be "counted on one hand" in 2010 - previously, however, they were even rarer. The Allgemeine Plakatgesellschaft (APG), which is licensed to put up the Allmend posters, hangs posters of the individual subjects at around a dozen to perhaps thirty locations.
Most of the posters are put up by APG "on its own authority", according to the Allmendverwaltung. Brothel posters are not exactly put up next to school buildings. APG only submits posters to the authorities for review if it has doubts about their permissibility. The canton has already rejected inadmissible posters.
