On 27 June 2026, Ambassador Michel Veuthey participated to a conference at the Kulturhaus Helferei-Kapelle in Zürich under the title “Prostitution: Where Does Autonomy End and Where Does Exploitation Begin?”  

The event was organised by a coalition of civil society organisations (Gemeinsam gegen Menschenhandel (GGMH), NorM182, MGF, and End Demand Switzerland), and brought together specialists from medicine, social work, theology, law enforcement, and survivor advocacy. 

Although prostitution is legal in Switzerland and has been treated as a recognised trade since 1942, the conference challenged this normalisation. Speakers drew on international legal instruments, clinical research, lived experience, and field data to argue that behind the legal façade lies a reality of violence, exploitation, structural coercion, and profound harm to women. The event was moderated by Charlotte Meisner of ETH Zürich. 

The conference was framed by two landmark international documents: a 2023 European Parliament resolution on prostitution, and the 2024 report of UN Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem, both of which address the inherent violence of prostitution against women and girls.