Furious sex workers slam drunk selfie-loving Brits for ruining Amsterdam’s famous red light district
A bookshop manager in De Wallen said the area was the 'biggest free attraction in the whole of Amsterdam'
SELFIE-snapping Brits are ruining business for sex workers in Amsterdam’s red light district, according to report.
They’ve complained that rather than paying for services, the penny-pinching tourists are opting for free photo opportunities instead.
Apart from deterring paying customers, gawping visitors are also clogging up cobbled alleyways in De Wallen – the red light district – and putting the women at risk of unwanted social media exposure, a investigation found.
Frits Rouvoet, who runs a bookshop in the district, and often shares a coffee with the women, said it was the “biggest free attraction in the whole of Amsterdam”.
The problem for sex workers there, though, is that there is “nowhere for them to run to. If they want to make a living, they have to stand in the window.
“But there are many, many men coming, from England, Scotland, Ireland – drunk, screaming, trying to make pictures,” he said.
Such circumstances make it difficult for women trying to ply business in De Wallen, as they prefer to work anonymously, keeping their occupation secret from families.
When PROUD, the Dutch sex workers' union, spoke to 308 prostitutes last year, it found that “almost all were exposed to one or more forms of violence".
But few assaults were reported, as “sex workers feel the need to remain anonymous.”
There are many, many men coming, from England, Scotland, Ireland – drunk, screaming, trying to make pictures
Frits Rouvoet, bookshop manager
One woman, Kristina, told the BBC that she didn’t like selling her body, “but I have to”.
Charging £88 (€100) for half an hour, and £132 for an hour, the Hungarian explained she was saving for her two kids’ future.
Her children live with her mum in Hungary and have been kept in the dark about her job.
Having worked in Amsterdam for a decade, Kristina doesn’t want to join them as – aside from annoying tourists – she is still making good money.
A brothel ban was lifted in October 2000, making running a sex business for voluntary prostitution by adults legal, and locally regulated.
But as a result, city officials said that street racing, drug dealing and illegal taxis are now commonplace at night in Amsterdam.
Last year, Amsterdam ombudsman, Arre Zuurmond, told Dutch paper Trouw that "the city centre becomes an urban jungle at night".
He added: "Criminal money flourishes, there is no authority and the police can no longer handle the situation."
Femke Halsema, Amsterdam’s first woman mayor, has suggested issuing permits for prostitutes to work in areas outside the city centre.
She said it could help relieve pressure on the busy area, and make sex workers’ lives safer.
But Karin Werkman, who helps human trafficking victims, fears this could have the opposite effect as women would be forced to become “invisible” by working in private homes.
Werkman told the BBC it could also encourage human trafficking and prompt men to “harass random women on the street to ask their price”, rather than concentrate on the red light zone.
