Amsterdam sex workers protest planned ‘erotic centre’
- A plan to uproot the famed red light district and move it out of town has become seen as part of a battle for the city’s soul
- Mayor Femke Halsema wants to reduce tourist numbers and petty crime in the area, but sex workers feel they’re being made scapegoats for criminals and crowds
Amsterdam’s sex workers on Thursday protested against the transfer of their famed red light district to an out-of-town “erotic centre”, in what is seen as part of a battle for the city’s soul.
Many wearing masks to shield their identity, dozens of sex workers 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?”
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 “sin city” while reducing the number of tourists and cutting down on petty crime in the area.
But 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 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, with its neon-lined windows in canal-side houses where sex workers stand waiting for customers.