Earlier to Bed

Streetwalkers are aroused

Some of Zurich's legendary financial gnomes apparently like to roam before they go home. At day's end they head for the nightclub and red-light district of Niederdorf-Bellevue, where the figures are more comely than those they have been wrestling with at the office. While prostitution is not illegal in Zurich, strictures on streetwalking are tight. It is banned in residential areas and near schools, hospitals and churches. In Niederdorf-Bellevue, the city's 700 registered prostitutes are free to solicit on the street only from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m.

That custom may soon be amended if the ladies in question have their way. A committee of 40 of the solicitors has asked Zurich's city council for a longer workday. The committee would like the streetwalking period to begin earlier, at 5 p.m., allowing the women three hours of voluntary overtime in which to solicit their "guests" on the street. Included in the committee's 24-page petition is a survey conducted under what must have been unusual circumstances. Polling 100 of their clients, the scarlet ladies discovered that after a day of trading pounds, francs and dollars, no fewer than 92 had a yen for picking up dates on the streets rather than in bars and cafes, where they might be recognized--and where the women now conduct business while waiting for the 8 p.m. stroll.

The women prefer earlier streetwalking hours on several grounds. They maintain that they could capture a larger share of the commuter crowd if they were allowed to begin work at 5 p.m. The city government, which collects taxes on their trade, could also benefit. Moving up the starting time would free the prostitutes from having to hang around bars. Says Josephine, a vivacious redhead who drew up the petition: "If you do not drink, the personnel are not very happy, since their wages are based on turnover. Men want you to drink with them, and there is a great danger of becoming alcoholic."

In addition, say the women, an advanced starting time would allow them to quit work earlier and avoid the danger of late-night muggings. Earlier hours would also improve their domestic lives. Most are mothers and they would have more time to spend with their children. Profits would also improve. The going rate for a trick in Zurich is $50, a price that has not kept pace with inflation. Says Josephine in exasperation: "I would like to know another profession that has worked for the same wages for 14 years." The city council has agreed to consider the prostitutes' petition. If it is denied, promises Josephine, she and her colleagues will take their case to the European Commission of Human Rights in Strasbourg. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.