Pauli district of Hamburg , located near the main red light district Reeperbahn. It is the only street in the city where it is still possible to find prostitutes in "windows" as in the famous De Wallen district of Amsterdam. This custom dates back to the reconstruction of the neighborhood after the fire of which was deliberately started by occupying French troops as a defensive measure.
The prostitutes nicknamed for their clothing Stiefelfrauen , or "women with boots" sit on stools in the windows, usually scantily dressed, to try and entice clients to enter. They will sometimes talk to potential clients through an open window. Often the windows have red lighting and neon signs. After the area was re-built in the 19th century, it became an area where sailors from the nearby Elbe docks spent their wages in the pubs and strip bars of the neighborhood.
Licenses for prostitution were issued. Pauli lost their licenses. At the time of National Socialism there was a ban on striptease and prostitution from Pauli trade could not be consistently enforced, [3] these activities were tolerated only in an alley - Herbertstrasse. In the s police added barriers and signs advising youths and women against entering: The signs are written in both English and German. The ban on women entering the street has brought criticism for gender discrimination.
In Sasha Grey and Mariya Ocher crashed the gates. The group said that the protest was against the sexual exploitation of women, trafficking and sexual violence, and activists criticised the fact that the street was inaccessible to women.
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