Every nation deals with the issue of prostitution differently. Last year a referendum in Switzerland approved the regulation of prostitution by allowing it to function in specified areas. Sex drive-ins are opening in Zurich, where people in cars who wish to pay for sex can pickup women from a designated area.

According to a report by New York Post, the driver of the car can select one of the sex-workers at the drive-in and is directed to a wooden booth for the car close by to meet with the woman.

The idea may seem to be degrading to women by some people but it does come with its own advantages. The crime against sex-workers can be reduced in such a controlled environment. Health services and charitable institutions will have easy access to the women.

The advocates for the idea can also point to the fact that the rising global problem of AIDS can also be checked by such methods. Other common problems associated with prostitution are that of human trafficking, forced prostitution and child prostitution. All such problems can be effectively checked in such a regulated environment.

The idea in Zurich however has come because sex-workers peddle their trade in residential areas. This has been a cause of irritation to the residents. The drive-in sex booths are now placed in the far off industrial zone and away from the city centre. The place is open from early in the evening to early morning the next day.

The booths reportedly cost $2.2 million and were provided for by the city council. There are a total of nine booths each of which can accommodate only one car and are equipped with an emergency button. There is also security guard presence close by to the booths.

The idea may not sit well with the conservative groups in Switzerland and the future of the booths depends on whether the sex-workers and people who pay for sex would actually use the sex drive-in. There is also the danger of such booths to be taken over by criminal organizations, who wish to profit by the trade.