Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema asked the government to come up with new legislation so that the capital can limit the sale of alcohol around entertainment areas. She hopes that this will help decrease the problems caused by partying tourists. The number of tourists and day trippers visiting Amsterdam is expected to increase from 20 million this year to 32 million in 2030, Halsema said in a letter sent to the city council along with the annual crime figures on Monday.
Red Light District
Feb 13 '20 17:54
Organized tours through Amsterdam's famous Red Light District will be prohibited as of April 1, the city announced in a statement on Thursday. The ban on commercial tour groups of was also expanded to cover other areas where window-base sex work is permitted, including the area around the Spuistraat in the city center, and along Ruysdaelkade in Amsterdam Zuid.
Nov 22 '19 08:49
Because the words "Red Light District" explicitly refers to sex work, the term will no longer be used on signposts leading to the Wallen area, D66 alderman Victor Everhardt of Tourism said during a debate in the Amsterdam city council on Thursday, Het Parool reports.
Oct 23 '19 11:30
Around 25 shops and liquor stores in the Red Light District will not be allowed to sell alcohol on Wednesday afternoon in the run-up to the Champions League match between Ajax and Chelsea. Bars will be allowed to serve alcohol, but only for consumption in the bar. The municipality of Amsterdam hopes to prevent problems caused by drunk football fans, Het Parool reports.
Oct 18 '19 11:58
Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema will investigate whether the prostitution sector can be moved out of the Red Light District and located in other parts of the city, including neighborhoods where more workplaces can be found. A prostitution hotel outside the Red Light District is one of the options she is looking into, she said in a city council debate on Thursday, Het Parool reports.
Aug 2 '19 14:10
A total of 1,289 muggings were registered in Amsterdam last year. In nearly 80 of these street robberies, the victim was robbed of their watch or jewelry. More than 300 phones were stolen, Het Parool reports based on answers given to questions from VVD and PvdA city councilors.
The muggings often happen on or around routes to entertainment areas, parks and train station. Over a quarter of last year's muggings happened in Amsterdam city center. The area around the Red Light District and Dam Square was most often targeted by muggers.
Jul 25 '19 11:50
A campaign was launched in Amsterdam aimed at drawing attention to the recognition of sex work. The message of the campaign is "sex work = work". Sex workers want people to understand that they are doing normal and legitimate work, NOS reports.
The two week long camping consists of electronic posters at bus- and tram stops. The posters will be shown for ten seconds every minute in different places in the city center. In both English and Dutch, the posters read: "My body. My job. My choice."
Jul 25 '19 11:00
The debate on the future of Amsterdam’s Red Light District was once again met with opposing ideas and interests by residents and sex workers during the last meeting held on Friday at the Compagnietheater.
Jul 16 '19 12:40
After nine years in operation, the Amsterdam Underground tour - started by the De Regenboog Groep, an NGO that works with homeless people - will now be in the hands of the formerly homeless guides who have lived the experiences the tour aims to illuminate to tourists. De Regenboog made the decision to form a cooperative for the four current volunteers to own the business and have full control of their narratives.
Jul 15 '19 14:20
The first meeting to discuss the future of Amsterdam’s Red Light District was met with disagreement and polarizing opinions on Wednesday evening at the Compagnietheater, the 18th century former church that sits in De Wallen. The meeting, organized by Mayor Femke Halsema, gathered residents, sex workers, and entrepreneurs who will be affected by the proposed changes for the area.
Jul 3 '19 14:12
Mayor Femke Halsema of Amsterdam is currently exploring various options for a new prostitution policy in the Red Light District. One of the options she is considering is closing all the window brothels in the area, NU.nl reports.
According to the mayor, the situation in the center of Amsterdam increasingly "dire" due to the continuing suspicions of human trafficking and the growth of unlicensed prostitution. "It forces us to put the prostitution policy on the agenda again", she said in a letter to the city council on Wednesday.
May 9 '19 12:40
The Amsterdam city council approved a ban on guided tours in the Red Light District. The ban will be implemented on January 1st, Het Parool reports.
Mar 28 '19 09:59
A novel new attraction will soon be opening in Amsterdam. Multi-sensory adult cinema 5D Porn is opening its doors in the Red Light District. A world first, according to owner Nathalie.
Mar 20 '19 12:53
Amsterdam will ban guided group tours along the window brothels in the Red Light District, the city announced in a press statement. The municipality is currently working out how to legally implement the ban.
Jan 17 '19 16:50
Mayor Jim Fouts of the American city of Warren is facing criticism about statements he made about a trip to Amsterdam. Speaking about the Dutch capital's Red Light District to an employee 2013, he apparently boasts that "you could get a 16-year-old girl if you wanted to".
Jan 14 '19 08:06
Amsterdam Ombudsman Arre Zuurmond wants to implement an age limit for visitors to the Red Light District, he said in a report on nuisance in the area. He believes that keeping children out will help reduce the problems in the area. He did not give a specific minimum age a child must be before being allowed to enter the Red Light District, AD reports.
Nov 2 '18 10:50
Amsterdam coalition parties GroenLinks, D66 and SP want to move prostitution out of the Red Light District by issuing new prostitution permits for areas outside the city center. They hope that this will relieve some pressure on the busy city center, and make sex workers' lives easier and safer. But not all sex workers are pleased with his idea.
Sep 20 '18 11:00
The court in Amsterdam convicted seven out of eight men for public violence for their role in a brawl in Amsterdam's Red Light District which ended in the death of 32-year-old Robert Gerritsen two years ago. The court ruled that the blow that ended Gerritsen's life was made in self defense, and 22-year-old Romanian Mirci M. was therefore not punished for it, RTL Nieuws reports.
Aug 15 '18 13:30
The municipality of Amsterdam is preparing experiments with three boat-related measures to see if they can reduce inconvenience for residents and business owners in the crowded city center. The first is a pleasure boat ban on the Oudezijds Voorburgwal in the afternoon and evening, AT5 reports.
Aug 13 '18 10:00
An increasing number of prostitutes working in Amsterdam's Red Light District are struggling with debts, that can range from 10 thousand euros to 30 thousand euros, newspaper Trouw reports based on its own research.
No total overview is available, but the debt problem is large, three Christian organizations that support prostitutes in the Red Light District - the Salvation Army, Scharlaken Koord and Bright Fame - confirmed to the newspaper.
Aug 7 '18 12:00
Amsterdam is implementing cleaning breaks in the Red Light District during busy nights. Parts of the street will be temporarily be closed to the public, so that the mess left by visitors can be cleaned up. This is one of the measures new mayor Femke Halsema is taking to quickly solve problems in the overcrowded Amsterdam city center, following damning reports by the city's ombudsman, Het Parool reports.
Jul 30 '18 09:34
At night the Amsterdam city center devolves into "lawlessness" to such an extent that the police can no longer handle it, Amsterdam Ombudsman Arre Zuurmond said to Trouw. The police confirmed his findings to the newspaper.
After multiple complaints from local residents, especially residents around the Red Light District and Leidseplein, Zuurmond decided to rent a home in the Red Light District to experience the situation for himself.
Jul 30 '18 08:21
Mayor Femke Halsema of Amsterdam is making an "ultimate attempt" to convince the lower house of Dutch parliament to hire more police officers. She is discussing this matter with Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus of Justice and Security, the Telegraaf reports.
Halsema toured Amsterdam's Red Light District during the early hours of Saturday morning, according to the newspaper. She denies that there is complete "lawlessness", as Amsterdam's ombudsman Arre Zuurmond said in previous reports. "But it is true that there are far too few enforcers and officers."
Jul 16 '18 16:20
Amsterdam Red Light District Tour is releasing an app with which tourists can tour through the popular district on their own, with the help of virtual guide 'Sophie'. The company hopes that this will help reduce problems caused by tourists entering the district in groups, Het Parool reports.
The app costs 4.49 euros for iPhone and 4.99 euros for Aindroid. It includes a 2 hours long tour during which Sophie will take you past 31 stops, from Schreierstoren to the Nieuwmarkt. During the tour, Sophie talks to 22 experts and people who work in the neighborhood.
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