Anyone working in sex work in Basel-Landschaft who seeks help will sooner or later have the same experience: You type in a question — about violence, health, exploitation, or exiting — and end up at an address in Basel-Stadt. This is no accident and no proof that nobody cares. It is the result of a regional structure in which two half-cantons have jointly operated their specialist services for decades, while responsibility for permits, registrations, and building decisions remains cleanly separated.
For you as an affected person, this means something very practical: The canton that decides about your workplace is not the same place where the counseling is located. And the number you need in an emergency is something you should know before the emergency happens. This text sorts the contact points in Canton Basel-Landschaft according to what they are actually responsible for — and according to what they require from you before they help.
A canton without its own contact point — and yet responsible
Basel-Landschaft has no sex work law of its own. What is permitted and where is decided primarily through municipal building and zoning law, supplemented by migration, social insurance, and tax law. How this structure works — and why a building authority in practice determines more about your working life than a morality police — is described in detail in the analysis on Basel-Landschaft’s regulatory logic without a sex work law.
The counseling gap became politically visible through an incident in Muttenz: A sex worker fled from Basel to Basel-Landschaft and hid on a school grounds, where she was found the next morning by students. The then Muttenz municipal councilor and SP regional councilor Roger Boerlin subsequently filed an interpellation in January 2023 and demanded figures: How many sex workers are there in the canton? How many cases of human trafficking? What action was taken?
The government council’s response was candid: The canton financially supported several specialist and contact points, but these were located predominantly in Basel-Stadt. It intended to use the knowledge of the specialist service Aliena, create synergies, and examine whether their activities could be expanded to Basel-Landschaft and secured with a service agreement. Additionally, a focus was announced on human trafficking and labor exploitation, including training for authorities.
The actual answer to the question „Where to go in Basel-Landschaft?“ has been in the names of the institutions for years: Victim aid of both Basel, women’s shelter of both Basel, AIDS aid of both Basel. These services operate on behalf of both cantons. You are there as a Basel-Landschaft resident not as a guest, but as someone entitled to services.
The figures that exist — and what they don’t say
From the government response, a rough order of magnitude can be gleaned: The number of persons from EU and EFTA states who registered in Canton Basel-Landschaft via the registration procedure for a job in the erotic services industry ranged between 109 and 118 in the years considered, with a peak of 168 registrations in 2020. No offenses in the area of human trafficking or promotion of prostitution were registered in the canton in the five years before the response.
You have to read both figures correctly.
The registration figures capture short stays by EU/EFTA nationals. Swiss citizens, settled residents, persons with longer-term permits, and anyone who does not register at all do not appear in them. It is an administrative statistic, not a head count. If you want to know which registration or permit applies in your own case and which office handles it, you will find the responsibilities outlined in the overview on registration requirement and permit in Basel-Landschaft.
And zero registered offenses does not mean zero offenses. It means: zero cases that reached police and justice as such. In a canton without an outreach specialist service on site, that is exactly what you would expect — nobody is out there who could receive information before it becomes a report.
Safety begins before the appointment
The check-in that doesn’t out anyone
The most effective safety tool in Basel-Landschaft costs nothing and requires no authority: a person who knows where you are and who reacts if you don’t check in. Agree on a fixed time window, an address, and an inconspicuous code word for „get me out of here.“ A call that doesn’t come is information — but only if someone is waiting for it.
Specific to Basel-Landschaft is the geography. Many appointments take place in apartments in agglomeration municipalities — Allschwil, Binningen, Reinach, Muttenz, Pratteln, Münchenstein — and the journey uses tram and S-Bahn. Clarify the return route before you go: After midnight, frequencies in the upper Basel-Landschaft and the Laufental thin out significantly, and an address that is a ten-minute walk from the station during the day is a different address at night.
A second point concerns proximity to the border: An appointment that crosses the national border is subject to different law, different emergency numbers, and a different police force. What this concretely means for people working mobile in the region is shown in the assessment of the escort scene in the three-country region.
What should be prepared at the workplace
A short list that can be implemented in any apartment: Phone charged and on your body, not in your bag in the next room. Emergency numbers as speed dial. A path to the door that does not go through the room where the other person is. Cash not visible. And the information about which municipality and which street you are on — in an emergency call, the first question is always about the location, and under stress you don’t remember the house number of a strange apartment.
The numbers: 117 for police, 144 for ambulance, 112 as the European emergency number that works even without an active SIM card.
After an assault: the first 24 hours
First medical, then everything else
Injuries belong in an emergency room, regardless of whether you are considering filing a report. Medical documentation is also useful if you only decide weeks later — it records what no one can reconstruct later. You can defer the decision about a report; you cannot defer documentation.
Victim aid: what it provides, what it does not require
The Victim Aid Act is the most important legal entitlement that most affected people don’t know about. Three points are central:
- The entitlement exists regardless of nationality and residence status, if the offense was committed in Switzerland.
- It exists regardless of whether you filed a report and whether the perpetrator is known.
- The counseling service is freely selectable — you are not bound to your home canton, which is important for people who want to be counseled outside their own municipality for reasons of discretion.
The emergency assistance unbureaucratically covers costs that result directly from a violent crime: medical care, crisis intervention, translation costs, security measures, emergency accommodation, travel costs, initial legal clarification. The counseling itself is free of charge, and staff are subject to confidentiality.Victim Support Counseling Centre for Both Basels, Steinengraben 5, 4051 Basel, Phone 061 205 09 10, Monday to Friday 08:30–12:00 and 13:30–16:30. It operates on behalf of the cantons Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft – for residents of Basel-Landschaft, it is the responsible cantonal office, even though the address is in the city.
Beyond immediate assistance, there are longer-term cost contributions as well as compensation and restitution. These state benefits are subject to conditions and deadlines that vary depending on the case. Clarify this with the counseling centre rather than guessing yourself – and do it early, because deadlines pass while you’re thinking it over.
Report: Now, Later, or Not at All
Severe offences are prosecuted ex officio. For offences requiring a complaint, however, you must file a criminal complaint within three months, otherwise the opportunity is gone. If you’re unsure which category an incident falls into: That’s exactly what the initial consultation at victim support is for. Getting advice first and reporting later is a permissible approach – the reverse, a missed deadline cannot be remedied.
Domestic Violence: Removal Order is a Basel-Landschaft Instrument
Since July 1, 2006, the Basel-Landschaft Police Act has included police removal orders. The police can remove an endangering person from the residence or home and impose a return and contact ban for 12 days; police custody may be additionally ordered to ensure compliance.
Important to know so the process doesn’t catch you off guard: The police transmit the names and addresses of both parties to the responsible counseling centres, which contact them on their own initiative and offer information and advice. The call comes without you having to trigger it.
- Intervention Centre Against Domestic Violence, Allee 9, 4410 Liestal, Phone 061 552 62 38 – the cantonal specialist office for violence in marriage, partnership and family.
- Women’s Shelter for Both Basels, Phone 061 681 66 33 – protection and emergency shelter.
The distinction is relevant: The removal order applies to violence in the domestic sphere, that is, by partners, ex-partners or co-residents. For assaults by customers, the path is different – emergency calls, criminal prosecution and victim support apply there.
When Exploitation is Involved
Human trafficking rarely begins with chains and almost always with dependence. Typical warning signs: The ID is held by someone else. There’s a debt that doesn’t shrink despite work. A third party determines the workplace, working hours and prices. Access to the outside, phone or contact with family is restricted.
- ACT212, national reporting centre against human trafficking and sexual exploitation: Phone 0840 212 212, Monday to Friday 10–18 o’clock. The hotline is operated by trained civilians, not by the police; the caller’s phone number is withheld. Reports can be anonymous, also online or by e-mail. Also for third parties who have a suspicion.
- FIZ Specialised Office for Female Human Trafficking and Female Migration: Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft have concluded a service agreement with FIZ that regulates victim protection by contract. In both Basels, the Victim Support Commission is the client, FIZ assumes case management – from assignment to reintegration.
On the government side, the Security Department runs a Round Table on Human Trafficking Basel-Landschaft, where police, justice, migration, social and labour market authorities as well as counseling centres work together, and has developed a cantonal guideline for uniform procedures. Additionally, an awareness campaign within the framework of the fedpol campaign with checklist and information sheet specifically targets healthcare professionals – because doctors and nursing staff are often the first and sometimes the only outside contacts of affected persons. For you, this means: A medical practice can be a gateway, even if you don’t want to talk about papers there.
Health Without Forms
Aids Help for Both Basels operates a target-group-specific service: The HIV/STI Check Sex Work is open weekly on Wednesdays from 2 to 5 p.m., without appointment – registration via the online tool is possible. Testing is anonymous, and there is also advice on sexuality, health and harm reduction. The Checkpoint Basel, also operated by Aids Help, is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 9 p.m. (medical consultation Tuesday 6:30–8:30 p.m., without appointment), but is aimed at men and trans people who have sex with men.
Basic care itself runs through the mandatory health insurance at the place of residence. What it doesn’t cover is loss of earnings: Those who are self-employed are only insured against illness and accident to the extent they have arranged it themselves. How the status question is assessed in Basel-Landschaft and what contributions depend on it is explained in detail in the article on AHV, Taxes and Self-Employment in the Canton of Basel-Landschaft.
Counseling, Exit – and Who Pays for It
Aliena, Specialised Office for Women in the Sex Industry, Webergasse 15, 4058 Basel, Phone 061 681 24 14, is the central specialist office of the region. Advice is provided free of charge and in multiple languages, on legal frameworks, working conditions, residence status, self-employment, health, experiences of violence, exploitation, career change and stigma. In addition, there is outreach social work in salons, contact bars and cabarets, a weekly meeting point as a low-threshold entry point, accompaniment to offices, German and self-defence courses as well as a retreat room with a warm meal.
The office has been active since 2001, was previously run by the association COMPAGNA Basel and has been an independent association since 2021. In 2008 it received the Equal Opportunities Award of both Basels – an early testament to the fact that cooperation across cantonal borders is not a makeshift solution of yesterday.
On the subject of exit, it’s worth taking a close look at the financing. The Grand Council of Basel-Stadt has approved 1.43 million francs for an exit programme for sex workers for the years 2026 to 2030, around CHF 286,600 per year. The pilot project is part of the Basel-Stadt multi-pillar model and is implemented by Aliena; it includes counseling, work integration, housing assistance, financial support and external evaluation. The government estimates that around 35 people per year meet the criteria, and realistically expects that about a third will succeed in exiting.
This is a Basel-Stadt programme with Basel-Stadt money. If you live in Basel-Landschaft and are interested, don’t assume you automatically belong – but don’t assume you’re automatically excluded either. Ask Aliena directly about access requirements.
Without Regulated Residence
The Contact Point for Sans-Papiers, Rebgasse 1, 4058 Basel, Phone 061 681 56 10, has provided free advice since 2002 to people without regulated residence. It is the only such office in the Canton of Basel-Stadt and is thus de facto the first point of contact in the region. In parallel: The victim support claim does not depend on residence status. For questions regarding residence law in Basel-Landschaft, the Office for Migration, Integration and Citizenship of the Security Department is responsible – but the sensible approach is to seek advice before approaching an authority.
The Short List for Your Wallet
| Situation | Department | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Acute danger | Police | 117 / 112 |
| Medical emergency | Ambulance | 144 |
| After a crime | Victim support both Basels | 061 205 09 10 |
| Domestic violence | Intervention office BL, Liestal | 061 552 62 38 |
| Safe shelter | Women’s shelter both Basels | 061 681 66 33 |
| Suspected exploitation | ACT212 (anonymous) | 0840 212 212 |
| Counseling on sex work | Aliena, Basel | 061 681 24 14 |
| Testing and health counseling | Aids-Hilfe both Basels, Sex Work | Wed 2–5 p.m. |
| Without regulated residence | Contact point for undocumented persons | 061 681 56 10 |
What remains open in 2026
There is still no physical contact point for sex workers on Baselland territory. Those working in the upper Basel region, in the Laufental, or in the Waldenburg valley have a real commute to Basel – and for people in acute crisis, that’s a genuine barrier. At the municipal level, social services are set up differently; there is typically no specialized contact person for sex work. And there is a lack of regular cantonal reporting, as Basel-Stadt knows: without data, every discussion about need remains a discussion about assumptions.
What can be practically derived from this is unremarkable and effective: save two or three of these numbers before you need them. The counseling centers in the region work free of charge, are bound by confidentiality, and do not require you to file a report or have a specific residence status before they talk with you. For anything binding – permits, deadlines, claims in individual cases – the information from the responsible cantonal office or your municipality of residence applies, not that of an article.