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“This is not a zoo”: why sex workers are protesting in Amsterdam

Overwhelmed by its own popularity, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is stepping up its effort to reshape the city’s “go wild” and “no rules” image.

People traveling for sex tourism are being told to stay indoors, there are crackdowns on marijuana and the red lights may be about to go out at brothels downtown.

New rules for sex workers came into effect on Saturday (1st), requiring Amsterdam’s sex work companies to close their doors at 3 am instead of 6 am to combat what local authorities describe as nuisance behavior by people visiting the district. of the red light.

The reduced hours come amid an ongoing campaign by the city council to move sex workers to an “erotic centre” outside the city centre.

The Dutch capital is also introducing measures to limit waterway cruises and impose restrictions on vacation rentals, as well as lobbying for an aviation tax to combat budget flying.

Several sex workers told CNN that renovations aimed at them are increasing stigma and said they believe they are being unfairly discriminated against and used as a scapegoat for the city’s problem with mass tourism.

A spokesman for the Deputy Mayor of Amsterdam, Sofyan Mbarki I told CNN that the package of measures is designed to keep the city livable, arguing: “we now have to choose restriction over irresponsible growth”.

Lost income and security concerns

Felicia Anna [nome fictício por motivos de privacidade] is a former sex worker who has lived in Amsterdam for 13 years and is now president of Red Light United, a union for window workers in Amsterdam’s red light district.

Anna says the reduced business hours will drastically affect window workers’ incomes, leaving many barely able to cover expenses such as renting windows and taxis to get home safely.

“Most workers start work after midnight or one o’clock in the morning, when the bars start to close,” Anna told the CNN . “Now you have maybe two hours to earn some money, which is not enough.”

Violet who is a pseudonym due to privacy concerns, is a sex worker and coordinator of the Prostitution Information Center (PIC), an Amsterdam-based organization that provides information and education about sex work.

She says the reduced hours will have a particular impact on the transgender community, saying that many clients arriving between 3am and 6am ask for trans professionals.

Violet also spoke about the concerns for the well-being of all sex workers, explaining how this could affect their ability to get home safely.

“If you are coming home at 3 am, especially if everything is closed, it leaves you, as a sex worker, in greater vulnerability,” Violet highlighted, comparing it to 6 am, which they said had more social activities and transport options.

“Our income is usually based on cash. So, at that time of the morning, we could be traveling with a lot of money. If there aren’t many people on the streets, it gives people who want to harm us the opportunity to do so,” she said.

Bureaucracy in the red light district

Against the backdrop of the new reduced hours restriction is a separate effort by the city council to close shopfront establishments and move sex workers to an erotic hub outside the city center.

A protest organized by sex workers disrupted a city council meeting on Thursday (30) that was discussing location options for the proposed sex centre.

Protesters handed over to the mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema a petition signed by 266 sex workers, according to Red Light United, which called for more policing in the red light district in lieu of earlier closing times and moving to a sex centre.

Halsema has previously said that some visitors see the window dressers as just a tourist attraction, arguing that a sex center will reduce pressure on the red light district and create a place where sex workers can work safely and undisturbed.

Sex workers disagree, arguing that the erotic center could create an environment for more crimes and “shady” behavior.

“The advantage of working behind the window is that it is visible and you feel safer. In an erotic center, you don’t have the same feeling because you are closed in a building”, said Anna.

Violet echoed safety concerns, arguing that relocating sex workers would also remove some social protections.

“If you remove the red light district, you have more concentrated behaviors in an area that also cannot be monitored and is not subject to public scrutiny,” Violet said.

“One of the coolest things about being a sex worker in Amsterdam is that when people take out their cameras and try to take pictures, it’s not just the sex workers who help, but also the local community,” Violet explained, adding: “ Dutch people are not afraid to scold people.”

“People won’t stay away”

Restrictions for sex workers is just one major point in the attempt to rebrand in Amsterdam.

As described, other rules must also be introduced in the red light district, such as restrictions on the sale of alcohol and a ban on smoking in the street.

The city council has also launched several campaigns, including the “Stay Away” campaign, aimed at British men traveling to the country in search of drugs and sex tourism.

A spokesman for Amsterdam’s deputy mayor, Sofyan Mbarki, said the campaign started in the UK because “part of that group is heavily represented in city center nightlife, accompanied by above average nuisance behaviour”.

However, he noted that this is only the first step of the campaign, saying that it is “not country-specific” and “in the coming months this campaign will also start in other EU countries and in the Netherlands itself”.

Felicia Anna and Violet said that from their experience British men behave no worse than other tourists.

Both added that it’s not just tourists who cause problems with nuisance behavior, but locals as well.

Anna believes the broader problem lies in the no-rules attitude attached to the idea of ​​Amsterdam, which she agrees needs to change.

“You can have multiple campaigns telling people to stay away, but people won’t stay away,” he argued.

“You need to teach people how to behave. If you don’t, it will never change.” “This is not a zoo,” insisted Anna. “Come to the red light district, but behave yourself.”

Violet also called for more education and said she believed the campaign could backfire, saying, “This targeted advertising makes it look more like a vice city.”

“Treat this place like you would treat your own hometown or your own city..

Source: CNN Brasil

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