In addition to the counselling centre, Hydra participates in lobbying and public relations to improve the legal and social situation of prostitutes.
The foundation of the association goes back to the counselling centre for venereal diseases of the Berlin-Charlottenburg health department, which had existed since 1915,[5][6] from which, in 1979, the idea for an autonomous prostitute organisation was born.
In July 1980, four of those involved, together with 10 female students, opened a seminar on prostitution at the Free University of Berlin in the Spielhagenstraße in Berlin-Charlottenburg, the Café Hydra.
In the autumn 1980, two more social worker interns were added, so that, in addition to regular opening hours, a large number of working groups were offered.
With the support of the socio-pedagogical institute "Arbeiterwohlfahrt", a vacant house in Potsdamer Straße, Berlin, was found that could be legally moved into, and renovation started.
The funds approved by the Berlin Senate for 1983 for two rented offices and the establishment of a café could not initially be paid out because no suitable space was found.
A focus of the association work soon centred on providing information on the immunodeficiency syndrome AIDS, which at that time was little known by the public or was seen as only as a disease among gays.
At the end of October 1985, the first National Hurenkongress (Whore Congress) was organised, in conjunction with the Huren wehren sich gemeinsam (HWG, e. V.), which was founded in Frankfurt.
As part of AIDS education and prevention, and in cooperation with the Berlin State Institute for Tropical Medicine, two additional posts were approved from December 1985.
[7] Under the direction of the author Rochus Hahn from the publisher Schwarzer Turm, the comic series Hurengeschichten, which was compiled from interviews with Hydra members, details the life and work of professional prostitutes.
[11] In an open letter, the association claimed that Alice Schwarzer's idea of communication between "customer" and "service provider" was an "absolute caricature".