The Basel office Sita – Pastoral Care in Taboo Areas is ten years old. It started on January 1, 2016 as a project of the Roman Catholic Churches of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft and is considered the only Catholic pastoral care service in Switzerland that explicitly targets people in the sex industry. Bishop Felix Gmür has granted the mandate from the beginning and continues to support the office today.
The work is carried out by a pastoral worker with a 40-percent position, Susanne Andrea Birke, who has been in office since March 2023. The service consists of street work — visits on the street and at workplaces — counseling sessions in the office, and, new under Birke, also conversation offerings for clients. Sita is anchored in the network of other Basel contact points; for the anniversary there was an event in the tolerance zone. Gmür says about this work: „The Church belongs where it is uncomfortable.“
What this means for the industry
Low-barrier contact points are part of the security infrastructure, not an afterthought. Those who don’t want to risk contact with authorities, have had bad experiences, or simply have no one to talk to need places without forms. Pastoral care does not replace legal, social security, or health counseling — but it can be the door through which someone goes at all. The fact that clergy in Switzerland are subject to professional secrecy lowers the barrier even further.
Remarkable is the structure behind it: Sita was extended by three years in 2018, converted into a limited-term permanent position in 2022, and confirmed again in 2024. In 2027, the church parliaments will decide again. A 40-percent position that must be approved every few years means for those affected: predictable uncertainty. The same debate is happening in Zurich, where there have recently been disputes about more money for counseling services. Services are created — and their existence depends on a vote.
The full report at kath.ch from September 8, 2026.
Which contact point in your region has actually helped you — and what is lacking there?