Amsterdam city council wants to cover window brothels with curtains

A majority in the Amsterdam city council pledged support for a D66 proposal to have sex workers in the Red Light District’s window brothels always keep their curtains closed. That should discourage tourists coming to gawk at them and contribute to more tranquility in the old city center, D66 faction leader Ilana Rooderkerk said, Het Parool reports.

A QR code or reservation system could show when sex workers are available. PvdA, VVD, JA21, DENK, PvdD, Volt, and Bij1 all pledged to support the proposal when Rooderkerk submits it next week.

“The Red Light District is not a lawless refuge. Do sex workers feel respected when tourists gawk at them? It also raises the question of how sex work as an attraction contributes to women’s position in the MeToo era,” Rooderkerk said.

Mayor Femke Halsema said she wasn’t against the idea but noted that sex workers might resist it. “If there is enthusiasm for this among sex workers, I will be happy to assist you,” she said.

Rooderkerk raised the idea during a debate on a plan to close brothels in the Red Light District at 3:00 a.m. instead of 6:00 a.m.

GroenLinks. Volt, PvdD, and Bij1 are against the earlier closing time. They referred to research showing that sex workers are in most danger between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m., when the nightlife closes and visitors are on their way home or to their hotels. It would be irresponsible to have sex workers walk home - because public transport isn’t running - right during that time, they argued. Sex workers would also lose a lot of business, they argued. Locals, on the other hand, want to close brothels even earlier.

Halsema started her part of the debate by stressing that sex workers are not the problem. “But just like the residents, they are greatly affected by the changed atmosphere. It has become a tourist attraction accompanied by a very undesirable humiliation of the sex workers,” Halsema said.

According to the mayor, Amsterdam is trying to find a balance. Closing brothels even earlier would result in more illegal prostitution, but locals also deserve their night’s rest, she said. “We thought reducing it by three hours was that balance.”