Tantra massages in a dedicated studio are considered a sexual service.
This was decided by the Berlin Administrative Court (VG) in an urgent procedure.
Studio operators therefore require official permission under the Prostitute Protection Act.
A tantra studio from Berlin-Charlottenburg had previously approached the VG with an urgent application against the obligation to obtain such a permit.
The operator wanted the court to determine that she did not need a permit for her studio.
Her offers are “alternative medical” treatments that are similar to a gynecological examination.
Her tantra operation is also equipped like the "wellness and spa area of a hotel".
Sexual acts as part of the massage
The judges saw it differently.
Accordingly, the studio meets the requirements to be classified as a prostitution site.
In the tantra studio, sexual acts are part of the massage.
The genital area is also included, and both participants are also naked.
According to the judges, the applicant was deliberately aiming at “sexual arousal in her customers”.
Gynecological examinations are not comparable.
Customers would also have to pay money for the service.
According to the court, a two-hour massage in the applicant's studio costs around 200 euros.
The Prostitute Protection Act provides for all forms of paid sexual contact to be recorded "in order to comprehensively protect the sexual self-determination of people" who work in the professional field.
An appeal can be lodged against the decision.
Various currents within Indian philosophy are referred to as tantra, which, among other things, combines spirituality and sensuality.
Many tantra institutes offer seminars and workshops that often claim to be sex-therapeutic.
Critics complain that there are many dubious providers who are insufficiently trained.
Sex therapist Susann Surber sees enormous potential for manipulation and abuse in the dogmas conveyed by tantrics, such as in the Agama Yoga training institute in Thailand.
Numerous cases of serious abuse became known there in 2018.