Pimp

The pimp or the colloquial madam (if it is a woman) is an intermediary of prostitutes who at the same time collects a part of their earnings. The pimp often receives this money in return for physical protection and the referral of clients. Providing a place where the sex worker can receive clients is also part of the pimp's job. Pimps also protect prostitutes from brutal clients or collect money from clients who are not willing to pay. Other colloquial terms for pimps are panderer, woman host, stenz, lude, and strizzi. The relationship between pimp and sex worker is often experienced as abusive and exploitative. The pimp often uses techniques such as psychological intimidation, manipulation, rape, confinement and the use or threat of violence.A pimp who first sweet-talks women with gifts, promises and feigned affection and later forces them to procure is called a loverboy. In extreme cases, forced prostitutes have to hand over all their earnings to the pimp. Normally, the pimp collects at least half of the prostitutes' earnings, sometimes much more.

The sex workers then usually have to pay room costs out of their share so that the pimp ends up earning more than the sex workers themselves. The pimping business model is lucrative for criminals because it involves little effort and just as little risk. In other words, the prostitute does the work and the (criminal) pimp mainly collects the money. Forms of pimping include running a prostitution business (brothel) and transporting a prostitute to the place of service. The term pimping also includes the smuggling of persons into a country for the purpose of prostitution. Human trafficking and also forced prostitution are often carried out by pimps with other criminal offences such as drug trafficking and possession of weapons. This is why pimping is illegal in Germany, as well as in many other countries. In German sexual criminal law, Section 181a of the Criminal Code deals with pimping; it is punishable by six months to five years in prison. The background to this is that prostitution itself is permitted, but the associated illegal red-light milieu is not. It is an attempt to separate these two areas, which were mixed when prostitution itself was also illegal. Before, prostitutes did not have the possibility to report their pimps because they incriminated themselves with the crime of prostitution. The amendment of the law is supposed to improve the working conditions for sex workers - and, for example, help them to achieve more self-determination. The statute of limitations for pimping is five years.