“When Mayor Femke Halsema announced the possible locations of the new erotic centre, she opened Pandora’s box. The deluge of negative reactions will have surprised few prostitutes – by now painfully accustomed to the stigma. They were all here: from angry residents to local politicians in the districts of the intended localities. Everyone was listened to, everyone except the prostitutes themselves,” says Lyle Muns on Parool.
The arguments used against the possible arrival of such a center are often quite singular: the PvdA of Amsterdam-Noord stressed that the NDSM headquarters “is not suitable” because there are schools nearby when today, in the red light district of Oudekerksplein, a kindergarten rises. Not to mention that the future center will not have “windows” but the workers will welcome customers in a space away from prying eyes.
“On Tuesday, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) added to the list: EMA said it feared for the safety of its employees if the sex center opened in their area. In Amsterdam, workplaces for prostitutes exist in different places without causing any insecurity for the locals. Indeed, at most it can increase security by leading to a greater presence of police and security in the area. Furthermore, it is a bit of an insult to the sex workers themselves”, writes the columnist.
Undoubtedly, most Amsterdammers believe that sex work should be a legal profession and that sex workers should be able to work in a safe and healthy way, it’s just that no one wants these places on their doorstep.
The number of legal jobs continues to decline and new ones are not being created, forcing female workers to practice at home or in hotel rooms.
“In Amsterdam, sex workers existed centuries before angry locals and EU agencies couldn’t contain their nimbyism (not in my backyard), and will exist centuries after they’re gone. The painful thing is that it is easy for these counterparts to speak out loud, while prostitutes hardly dare to speak by name because of the stigma,” says Muns.