Amsterdam plans to prohibit sex workers from loitering outside windows in the red light district.
As the Dutch city gets ready to vote on an ordinance that would permanently remove brothel window curtains in order to more effectively follow the #MeToo movement and prevent nuisance tourism, Amsterdam’s prohibit sex workers renowned red-light district may soon look quite different.
Currently, the crimson curtains that cover the windows of the famed brothels in Amsterdam’s DeWallen neighbourhood are only drawn while a customer is being entertained or a sex worker is not there. If the city council decides to keep them closed permanently this week, that situation would alter, according to The Telegraph.
Amsterdam’s famed red-light district may soon look very different as the Dutch city prepares to vote on an ordinance that will permanently remove brothel window curtains in order to more effectively follow the #MeToo movement and avoid nuisance tourists.
Currently, the legendary brothels in Amsterdam’s DeWallen neighbourhood only have their red curtains closed while a client is being entertained or a sex worker is not there. The scenario would change if the city council agrees to keep them shut down permanently this week, according to The Telegraph.
The head of the local D66 group, Ilana Rooderkerk, said of the proposal, “The red-light district is not a lawless area.” “Sex work has become into a popular tourist attraction, and this has led to some really unsavoury, demeaning conduct toward prohibit sex workers. This does nothing to advance the status of women in the post-MeToo society.”
The law will also restrict marijuana use in public places, close bars at 2 a.m. rather than 4 a.m., and close window brothels at 3 a.m. rather than 6 a.m. in addition to dealing with the curtains in the red-light district.
Diederik Boomsma, a council member for the Christian Democratic Appeal, stated, “We need to get rid of this image of Amsterdam as a city where you go to do all the things that aren’t allowed at home, like drugs and prostitution.”
We need to go past this cynical, faux-progressive concept of freedom as emancipation from all taboos and letting go in order to revert to a more mature view of freedom, which is self-government.
The “stay away” campaign is the name given to the whole effort by lawmakers to clean up the red-light district since it aims to deter visitors from visiting with the goal of indulging in lawlessness.
Deputy Mayor Sofyan Mbarki stated in a statement that “some businesses exploit Amsterdam’s image to pitch it as a location of ‘infinite possibilities'”. “Some groups of tourists believe it to be a city where everything is possible as a result. The Municipal Executive does not find this type of tourism or products that target these populations attractive.”