October 2001
00’30
Amsterdam’s Red Light district. Thousands of tourists marvel at what, in most cities, is usually tucked away in obscurity. And that’s not all that’s unique. Women who work in Dutch brothels are, from a year ago, workers like any other. They have health insurance, tax numbers and holiday entitlement. The new laws apply only to prostitutes from the EU, however. Women from elsewhere can’t rent a room.
01’00
So goes the theory. In practice, a year after the ban on brothels was lifted a great deal is still unclear.
01’11
iv Christy Ten Broeke, Prostitute’s Union: ‘De Rode Draad’
01’14
It’s a good start, but prostitutes really know very little, except that they now have to pay tax. They haven’t been told about any other rights or duties.
01’28
The new law is good in that it controls working conditions, and makes it easier to uncover illegal immigrants or underage workers. On the down side, it means immigrants aren’t tolerated anymore. They haven’t left the country, however, they’ve just gone into hiding, or are forced underground.
1’49
Many hookers now work from railway stations or industrial estates, where they are at the mercy of pimps. The reason for this is in Holland, like everywhere in Europe, many of the prostitutes come from the former Eastern bloc.
02’12
There are fears that the illegal sector may also grow very quickly, fears Marieke van Doorninck works fro a womens group with close ties with the Dutch government.
02’26
Marieke van Doorninck
Institute for prostitution questions
02’30
‘It’s bad that all the attention is placed on controlling and regulating the sex industry, instead of improving the basic framework. Inasmuch as there are many important improvements that need to be made, working conditions are often very unclear, and mostly very bad. Women work under immense pressure, are stigmatised, and so on. A lot has to be changed, the government does far too little to improve things. There is much more to be done’.
03’20
Jan Bik has been working in the sex industry for 30 years, and runs seven brothels. He used to be a school teacher. Since the abolition of the hundred year old ban on brothels last autumn, he and his colleague have had it tough, he complains. Before Jan Bik could run his company almost unhindered. Whilst his business was, in fact, illegal, it was tolerated so long as he didn’t cause any trouble. Now prostitution is a legal business, he has to apply to the authorities for a license, pay for it, and always be ready for a health and safety investigation. If he doesn’t fulfill the numerous conditions, he will lose his license.
04’00
Jan Bik
Brothel manager
‘Legalisation is a disaster, for the girls, for us. With it they have driven 60-80 percent of women underground. Girls in legal whorehouses will always be hounded. And the girls in the illegal whore-houses, that’s to say 60%, won’t have any troubles. And most illegal brothels are already under pressure from the Mafia. Holland has said that the goal of legalisation is to improve control and safety, but that’s not the case. It’s just sent everything further in to the hands of the Mafia.
04’47
Jan Bik once campaigned for legalisation, but now he now believes the government is only after the money, and wants to harass the industry.
04’55
Jan Bik
Brothel Manager
For starters they’ve said that the girls have to cut their nails – otherwise they might break the condoms – girls have been doing that for 3000 years with long nails, they are very careful, they protect themselves – and another thing, the underwear, they have to wash their underwear at 60 degrees because of the germs – what else is there? There’s thousands…
05’35
In Holland around 10 000 women work regularly as prostitutes. In brothels they can choose whether they want to be independent businesswomen, or lowly staff. They have the right to turn customers away, refuse certain sexual practices, and aren’t forced to take drugs or alcohol. However neither the prostitutes nor the relevant authorities know how exactly to put the new laws into effect.
06’03
Anne
Prostitute
06’08
I don’t know which is better, but I’d rather stay illegal. I don’t want to be reported to the taxman. I want to stay anonymous. If I register then they know my name, my tax number my telephone number – quite simply, - everything…’
06’28
Sasdha
Brothel manager.
06’34
Legalisation brings a lot of problems with it. A girl can register as a prostitute, but she’ll have trouble opening a business account at a bank, because they still associate prostitution with crime. There’s a lot of hurdles.
06’55
Holland is usually a step ahead of the rest of Europe on controversial topics. You can smoke marijuana and hashish in the coffee shops, it was the first country to allow homosexual marriages and euthanasia is legal under certain conditions. And now the state wants to improve the situation for hookers.
07’16
Marieke van Doorninck
Dutch women’s Group
07’20
We consider ourselves as especially tolerant, but I’d rather say we are very pragmatic. We Dutch consider a lot of themes, that might in other countries be discussed on a moral level, on a purely practical one. We don’t look for a solution to difficult questions, rather for a practical way to deal with it.
I don’t believe that morality in Holland is any different to other countries. We just take an alternative look at difficult questions.
08’15
The famous red windows of Amsterdam are now part of the Dutch economy. And those labeled ‘prostitutes’ no longer have to stand on the fringes of society. Activists for sex workers are already pursuing a wider aim: they want to declare war on the prejudices against prostitutes.