About 40 sex workers will be able to operate out of the premises, which are being run by a foundation called My Red Light, in which prostitutes take an active part. Prostitution has been legal in the Netherlands since Owners of sex businesses must obtain a licence and adhere to municipal rules, while prostitution is a legal profession and its practitioners are expected to pay taxes.
Amsterdam has continued to be an important destination for human traffickers, often via criminal gangs from eastern Europe. In an effort to combat organised crime in the red light district, Amsterdam started closing windows on the Wallen in This policy had negative side effects for prostitutes, however. Due to their scarcity, the rent for windows went up. Some landlords saw a chance to force women to pay for their window even when they were not working, for example during holidays or periods of illness.
We hope they will educate each other when it comes to things like negotiating or dealing with unpleasant customers. The mayor of Amsterdam, Eberhard van der Laan, went to great lengths to make it all happen. When sex workers have a say in where, how and when they are working, they become less dependent on third parties.
By setting up their own window brothel, sex workers acquire knowledge, experience and a position to develop themselves. A male prostitute involved in setting up My Red Light agreed. The buildings have now been sold to a social investment fund, which rents them out to My Red Light. The Dutch bank Rabobank has granted My Red Light a start-up loan, and the health care institution HVO-Querido is providing guidance for the prostitutes, most of whom have little to no experience of setting up a business.
The rooms are bigger and more colourful than is usual in the Amsterdam red light district. The plan is to also organise trainings and courses for the prostitutes. We are also anxious to see how neighbourhood residents and window landlords are going to react in the long run. Will they embrace it or turn against it?
