Amsterdam's plan to relocate its red light district

The typical and historic Amsterdam district of De Wallen, the so-called red light district, has over time become a source of concern for the local administration. It enjoys increasing popularity and is visited by thousands of people every day, leading to problems with public order, cleanliness, and, above all, disruption for those working in the sex industry. The municipality has already intervened by reducing the number of shops targeting tourists, increasing taxes on them, and reducing the number of new hotels to be built. In addition, the De Wallen neighborhood will no longer be allowed for guided tours from 2020, while the nightly closure of some streets for cleaning will continue. Despite these measures, the situation has not improved as read in The Guardian, the municipality is considering reconsidering the red light district and moving it to the outskirts of the city.

Mayor Femke Halsema and the city council had agreed on a plan to build a single, large, multi-story "erotic center" with bars, restaurants, entertainment areas, a health center and dormitories for sex workers. Eight possible areas were identified where the facility could be located, but residents in each area objected. One of the possible areas was not far from Amsterdam's financial district and was close to the city's main exhibition and conference center. «If someone has to host a big conference and has a choice between Berlin, Barcelona, and Amsterdam, the sex center will certainly not help attract them» Bart Vink, president of the district council responsible, objected to the proposal.

The idea of moving out of the city center does not even excite the people who work in the red-light district. According to the Red Light United union, about 90% of the neighborhood's 170 sex workers want to stay in the area. «The proposed locations are in areas where there are no tourists»; areas that, according to a representative of the Prostitution Information Centre, «are commercially dead after 6 pm» - which is why she was «strongly opposed to the center as proposed». One sex worker told Vice that it was good to «see the clients on the street before they come in». «I choose them myself», she said. In addition, the sex workers in the De Wallen neighborhood are usually very close and look after each other: «We know each other, we exchange information with the whole neighborhood. I fear that such a social system would be uprooted in a new environment.

According to the local administration's belief, the erotic center would provide more security for the sex workers, but according to those involved, this is a belief 'based on the opinion of someone who obviously does not work as a prostitute». Many sex workers say they prefer the De Wallen neighborhood to other places precisely because it is more crowded: «Some of us prefer to work in quieter areas. But it is not the municipality's job to make that decision for the sex workers».

Trade unions and collectives representing sex workers, who accuse the local administration of not including them in the considerations of redesigning the red light district, also fear that the relocation of those working here could lead to a security problem. In this context, one sex worker interviewed by Vice said that being able to be "invisible" again after finishing work in the shop window is a guarantee of their safety: «They disappear among other people, on the street. It is a pleasant and safe environment. This could not happen in the suburbs and therefore the risk of being disturbed would be greater». An erotic center would not only cause technical problems in the short term but also in the long term, especially with regard to the concept of sex work. Those who choose to work in the shop windows of De Wallen would hide again and people would no longer be able to imagine it as a real profession.

And the most important consequence is that they would be even less respected. Despite the unfavorable points, Mayor Femke Halsema is optimistic about finding a solution, and the administration has identified three other possible sites for the erotic center - which would take ten years to build. The municipality's stated goal is to increase the quality of life in the heart of Amsterdam, reduce the influence of organized crime on sex work and improve the rights of sex workers, but the road to convincing residents and sex workers still seems long and difficult.