Every sex-worker residing in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, who otherwise cannot qualify for protection in terms of health insurance, has the right to purchase personal health insurance. The right to health benefits is available only after a period of three months from submission of the application in the Common Centre of Social Security. The applicant has attach the certificate of residence to his application form.

The person without legal status currently runs the risk of being registered and fined by the police; however, health care and medical treatment are provided.

The non-national cannot be removed from the territory if he establishes through medical certificates that his/her state of health requires medical care and treatment, without which would cause him/her grave consequences, and if the evidence reveals that he/she cannot receive appropriate care and treatment in the country to which he will be expelled.

Uninsured national sex-workers, as well as uninsured or undocumented migrant sex-workers have access to free HIV/AIDS treatment in Luxembourg. Auxiliaries, like the «Aidsberodung, Red Cross Luxembourg» provide people living with HIV/AIDS and their entourage, emotional, psychosocial and practical support. They fight against the spread of HIV by initiating prevention campaigns.

A non-national EU sex-worker may be admitted to the substitution programme during his stay in Luxembourg, if he can prove that he followed already a substitution treatment in another European Union country (this is also always applied if a person is only on holidays in Luxembourg).

People without legal status and without health insurance can be admitted to the methadone programme if they speak and comprehend one of the languages spoken in Luxembourg (Walloon, German, French, and English) well enough to ensure effective monitoring.

In this case, the demand introduced at the Ministry of Health remains anonymous. If the concerned person is co-operative, everything will be done during the treatment and the monitoring of it to regularise the legal situation of the person and to get health insurance for those concerned.

With regard to communicating and being understood in the Duchy of Luxembourg, there is no great problem: Luxembourg’s population is mainly trilingual (Walloon, German, French) and many of its citizens often speak very well a fourth language (English), with many others that speak the Romance languages of Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian.

With regard to its small size of the country and the prostitution scenario, it is relatively easy to stay connected with and to get in touch with peers and to get informed about the offers of services and the regulations.

One must note that the prostitution scenario is limited to the area around the station in the City of Luxembourg, consequently, this district has become a hot spot for the emarginated population.

With regard to the future, there is already a proposed regarding prostitution, which aims to introduce prostitution into the penal code to order to ban the purchase of sexual services.

The authors of the proposed law argue now for the substitution of conventional sentences (fine and deprivation of liberty) and they judge the Swedish approach as the only acceptable approach for prostitution. This means that they want to focus on the awareness of the buyers of sexual services. They intend to modify the present law in the following meaning:

• The person who purchases or attempts to buy sexual services will be punished by mandatory participation in interactive seminars on prostitution for a period between 10 and 20 hours.

The public debate on the proposed law took place a year ago. In terms of political parties there were pros and cons. It is hard to tell whether this law will one day be voted or not because we actually are not hearing much discussion about it.

In any case the debate last year has resulted in great confusion and insecurity among prostitutes and customers. The police has become increasingly visible and repressive in the area.