Hundreds of sex workers and residents from North to South of Amsterdam demonstrated this Thursday against a city plan to move prostitution from the famous Red Light District to an ‘erotic center’ in the suburbs.
Protesters marched through the streets toward City Hall, with dozens wearing masks to conceal their identities, while some held signs such as “Save the Red Light District.”
The city council must determine a location for this controversial ‘erotic center’ before the end of the year, which it justifies by the need to reduce the nuisance and crime associated with mass tourism.
Fearing to see this “erotic center” close to their homes, residents living near the three possible locations, in the north and south of the city, unexpectedly joined the sex workers’ protest.
‘We have been protesting against the disappearance of windows for 16 years’ neon lights near the canals in the historic center highlighted Mariska Majoor, a former sex worker who defends the sector.
“In 2007, the reason [invocado pelo município] it was the fight against human trafficking and abuse and currently it is the fight against mass tourism”he added.
One sex worker, who identified herself only as Lucie, believes these plans are hiding “a major gentrification project.”
“It’s mainly about popular fights in De Red Light District, but it’s not the fault of the sex workers, so I don’t see why we should be punished for that.”he emphasized.
In total, several hundred Amsterdam residents went to the room, the Dutch news agency ANP estimates.
‘We don’t want the largest brothel in Europe in our neighborhood’Cynthia Cournuejouls, a 42-year-old mother who lives in the south of the city, told AFP.
The dispute even involved the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which is strongly opposed to the fact that two of the proposed sites are close to the new headquarters, south of Amsterdam.
The Dutch capital, which is trying to shake off its image as a ‘city of sin’, has also launched an online campaign to discourage young Europeans from organizing bachelor parties or other festive outings in the city.
After protests over the selection of three potential locations to house the center in February, Mayor Femke Halsema slightly adjusted her plan in June and promised to reduce the number of restaurant spaces.
The ‘erotic center’ should also accommodate about a hundred spaces for sex workers.
Petitions against this project collected almost 22,000 signatures in September, and according to a survey by the newspaper Het Parool in June, only one in five people supported this “erotic center”.
Source: DN
