Ever since the Czechoslovak Velvet Revolution (1989) led to the creation of two independent states – the Czech Republic and Slovakia – prostitution has been flourishing and has contributed its share to the region's booming tourist economy.
Between 2005 and 2010, Prague had the world's first online brothel, Big Sister, where customers could get free sexual intercourse, with the acts being broadcast on the internet.
Czech law enforcement conducted joint anti-trafficking investigations with Germany, Slovakia, Austria, Poland, and Ukraine in 2004.
Many victims chose to apply for asylum, which allows them legal status in the Czech Republic until their cases are decided — a process which can take months or years.
The Ministry of Interior is currently collaborating with IOM to produce a demand-reduction campaign targeting clients of commercial sex outlets along the Czech-German border area.
[9] UK police superintendent John Mottram, working as an advisor to the Czech government on organised crime, said that the interior ministry in Prague does not see prostitution as a priority.
"[10] Opposition to the Czech government's plan to legalize prostitution came from a group of international human-rights activists representing diverse political and philosophical positions.
110 signatories for organizations representing millions of members sent a letter to Czech President Václav Klaus and other government officials, urging them to reconsider.
Organized crime controls the "industry" and, in a legalized regime, it will have an enhanced capacity to do so ... Brothels are sexual gulags for women and girls ... A decision to accommodate traffickers, pimps, and organized crime's slave trade in girls and women [is] an act unworthy of Czechs' traditions of fighting for their own freedom.
It is an act we will resist with every democratic means available to us, and will fight in Congress and our legislatures, through our organized women's movements and from tens of thousands of church and synagogue pulpits.
We close by urging you to reject the calls for legalization that sully the reputation of the Czech Republic and dishonor its history.
Please take a leadership role in resisting the trade in women and children and please, in a manner consistent with your traditions, maintain the Republic as a model for human rights and democracy.