Amsterdam sex workers protest against plan to move red light district
Sex workers in Amsterdam have protested against the planned transfer of their famed red light district to an outof-town “erotic centre”, in what is seen as part of a battle for the city’s soul.
Dozens of people, many wearing masks to shield their identity, marched through the streets towards City Hall, one carrying a banner saying: “If sex workers are not to blame then why are we being punished?”
The mayor, Femke Halsema, wants to uproot the red light district and move it out of town to a purpose-built erotic centre, aiming to rid Amsterdam of its image as a “sin city” while reducing the number of tourists and rates of petty crime in the area.
She has found herself up against local residents who do not want the new centre on their doorstep, as well as sex workers who feel they are being made scapegoats for the criminals and crowds surrounding their neon-lit booths.
Halsema has long opposed the centuries-old red light district, known as De Wallen, where sex workers stand in windows waiting for customers.
The city council has earmarked three possible sites for the erotic centre, which would have 100 rooms for sex workers. One sex worker, who identified herself as Lucie, dismissed the idea as “one big gentrification project”.
She said: “It’s mainly about combating the crowds in De Wallen, but that is not the sex workers’ fault so I don’t see why we should be punished for it.”
The European Medicines Agency has been caught up in the controversy after it emerged that one possible site for the erotic centre was near its headquarters. The EMA voiced outrage, saying it could affect the safety of people working late at the office.
More than 20,000 people have signed a petition against the transfer of the booths, calling instead for better crowd control in the area and greater police surveillance, especially at night.
Mariska Majoor, a former sex worker who now advocates for their rights, said the protests against moving the district had already been going for 16 years and that City Hall kept moving the goalposts.
“The authorities had a plan to reduce part of the brothels already in 2007,” she said. “Then it was because of the fight against people trafficking and abuse and now it’s about the fight against mass tourism.”
Moving the red light district is Amsterdam’s latest effort to transform its image as a party capital. It has also launched a “stay away” campaign to discourage stag nights and boozy tourists, which caused a stir in Britain after the council said it would start by targeting British men aged 18 to 35.
Thursday’s demonstration also attracted out-of-town locals who could find themselves living next to the new erotic centre. Cynthia Cournuejouls, 42, who lives to the south of the city, said: “We don’t want the biggest brothel in Europe in our neighbourhood. We just don’t want it. We want to keep it here.”