Mayor Amsterdam wants to violate privacy rights sexworkers
With a plan to open up 19 new winow brothels in Amsterdam, mayor Eberhard van der Laan tried to pretend to be sex workers their friend. But while still continuing with closing down 94 more windows, this is of course nothing more than a trick of the mayor to try and claim sex workers their voices. Burying sex workers organisations in a pile of paperwork regarding his new window brothel, he hoped sex workers and organisations would be too busy to notice what's going on, and hoped to shut up the criticism. He hoped sex workers and organisation would be too scared to loose those 19 new brothels to criticize him for closing down more windows.

That may work for some, but not for me. After all, he's still avoiding to talk with sex workers working behind the windows in Amsterdam to talk about closing down the windows, while he does invite them to come and talk about his new brothel plan. Of course this only with the intention so he can claim that sex workers where very positive about his plans. Yeah, that's kind of easy if you only talk about the one good part of Project 1012, while avoiding to talk about most of the bad parts of this project which is directly threatening the work and lives of 250 women.

But recently someone tipped me off on some information, proving that mayor Eberhard van der Laan is still not the sex workers friend he pretends to be. In a letter from the mayor of Amsterdam, directed to the Minister of Justice, he requests him to create an legal opening to violate sex workers their privacy rights in order to fight human trafficking.
Now, to get things straight. This is not the first time the government has tried to violate sex workers their privacy rights. The city of Amsterdam itself has tried to get detailed privacy information about sex workers in Amsterdam, by letting the brothel owners do an obligated intake interview. After some struggle from several organisations this was forbidden, since it violated both the Dutch as well as European privacy rights.
But also the government itself attempted to do the same thing, by requesting for a mandatory registration of sex workers. This plan made it through parliament, but in the end was shot down in the senate for violating privacy rights of sex workers. In short, we know already this is not allowed due to privacy rights, both of the European Union and the Dutch law.

But the mayor of Amsterdam doesn't like that. He desperately wants to fight human trafficking, and is willing to violate sex workers their privacy rights to do so. Something that is illegal, both in European as well as by the Dutch law. But the mayor simply doesn't care about that, because he needs human trafficking examples and successes to claim that his project on closing down prostitution windows is a success. He needs to violate privacy rights in order to get more success, and take away more sex workers their workplaces, so he can sell them and make lots of money on it.
Mayor Eberhard van der Laan wants to specifically know detailed privacy information, about every sex worker their physical and mental health, but also their private sex life. This in order to subject all the sex workers in Amsterdam to a interview, to detect if a sex workers is independent enough, and determine if he or she is not a victim of human trafficking.

Yet Van der Laan has done nothing so far to improve sex workers to be more independent. Sex workers still can't get a bank account, as also recently was proven again when the Dutch union for sex workers was denied a bank account at Triodos Bank. Also loans, mortgages and insurances are most of the time impossible to get as a sex worker, even though it's a completely legal job.
Also sex workers still have huge difficulty finding a place to live, as many house owners, landlords and housing agencies refuse sex workers. As well as the fact that there's hardly any information available on how to get (safely) started with sex work in the first place.
This causes sex workers to reach out for help outside of the legal system, since they get refused there. And this makes them easy prey for trafficker who gladly want to help sex workers with this, in order to exploit them and force them to work for them.

Mayor Eberhard van der Laan writes in his letter he wants to 'improve' the position of sex workers by violating their privacy rights, in order to fight human trafficking. He wants to make sex workers more 'independent' and self sufficient.
Yet, how does violating someone's privacy rights make someone more independent? How does knowing what illness I have, make it easier for me to get a loan from a bank? How does knowing how my sex life looks like, make it easier for me to find a house? How does knowing that I'm not psychologically insane help me to get more information on how to get started as a sex worker in Holland with all that bureaucratic paperwork?
No, you might be able to spot a few more victims perhaps, but it certainly doesn't help sex workers to be more independent and self sufficient in any way. And that's also not so weird, since Van der Laan is not doing anything on making us more independent and self sufficient. After all, he's closing down 5 times more workplaces for sex workers than he's opening up, so that doesn't exactly make us more independent or self sufficient. In fact, it only makes us more vulnerable.

Now of course Van der Laan hoped nobody would notice this letter, and he could quietly continue while sex workers and organisations were too busy with those 19 new window brothels. But, unfortunately for him, I'm not interested in this new 'city brothel' at all, since I know it's just an attempt to distract us from his real objectives: to close down more windows.
Too bad for you mr. Van der Laan, but you can't trick me or most of the other sex workers. We're not interested in your new city brothel, we like to work with our current brothel owners. Our brothel owners are not the bad people you tell everyone they are, in order to kick them out of their buildings and sell them, so you and a couple of city official friends can get very rich. You continuously underestimate sex workers, and that in the end will cost you more than those people are willing to pay for real estate.

You will not violate the European and Dutch laws when it comes to privacy. Privacy is a human right, and by requesting the Minister of Justice to get detailed information about our physical and mental health, as well as information about our sex life, you are violating human rights. And I will not let you violate the human rights of sex workers in Amsterdam!

Dutch version


Triodos bank refuses sexwork organisation bank account
"Follow your heart. Use your head" (unless when you care about equal rights and freedom)
Triodos bank, a bank that says to invest in organisations, companies and projects that contribute to a better society has refused sexwork organisation PROUD a bank account. According to their statement, they don't accept organisations which deal with pornography. A strange thing, since in their own criteria found online, it very clearly states that they don't accept (section Non-durable products and services):

"Pornography: All organisations, businesses and activities that focus on the sale of pornographic products and/or exploitation of related meeting places and shops."

But since PROUD doesn't sell or exploit pornography itself, but nearly stands up for the rights of the people working in this industry, this isn't the case for PROUD. Above all, the criteria state that they do support (section Culture and well being):

"Projects and initiatives that help people in society to develop themselves to be free citizens."

Which is exactly what PROUD is about, helping people in society (in this case sex workers) to develop themselves to be free citizens (free from human trafficking, discrimination and stigmatization). Even funnier is the fact that with the refusal of Triodos, they have actively contributed to deny people to develop themselves as free citizens, by denying sex workers a bank account for their rights organisation.

Furthermore Triodos states that they 'strive for financing projects that makes these qualities not subject to financial or commercial targets'. In short, exactly what PROUD is doing. Triodos also writes in their criteria how their bank differentiates from other banks. Namely by:

"Contributing to the renewal in society, so people can develop themselves more freely, have equal rights and take responsibility for the consequences of their economic trading for other people and the earth in general."

My question would be: How is PROUD not renewing society? By standing up for the rights of sex workers, so they can develop themselves more freely (as is also the goal as stated in their own criteria) and can get equal rights (which is exactly the point of PROUD).

After some fuzz on social media, the bank came with an explanation for their actions. They wrote in a reaction that for their bank everyone is equal, which is also part of the bank their constitution, which are inspired by the French revolution. But if everyone is equal, than why can't a sex workers organisation open up a bank account?
After all, they don't produce or sell pornography, they call out for the rights of sex workers to be free, to be treated as equals, to develop themselves more freely. In what way does this conflict with their own criteria? And if everyone is equal, than why not sex workers? And if they would be inspired by the French revolution (freedom, equality and brotherhood), on which point exactly is PROUD, an organisation that stands up for freedom and equal rights for sex workers, not following that idea?

Funny enough, this is of course not the first time this has happened. Sex workers get these kind of things on a daily base. Not just with opening bank accounts, but also with loans, mortgages, insurances etc. etc. And it is because financial organisations refuse sex workers, that they have to resort to other means. And this is what makes them vulnerable to human trafficking, because they're easy prey for traffickers to take advantage of, when they cannot be financially independent.

In most cases of human trafficking, it revolves around a sex worker who accepted the job, but subsequently has to pay off a debt. That debt comes from the fact that they accepted a deal with the trafficker, because legal financial services deny sex workers their services. This forces sex workers into accepting deals from traffickers, which subsequently leads to exploitation, and in some cases even leads to forced prostitution.

Denying sex workers or organisations that stand up for their rights, financial services, you are actively pushing them towards human traffickers, that gladly take advantage of their vulnerable position, to exploit and force them to work for them.
With their actions, Triodos has only proved one thing. That they don't support people standing up for their own rights, the rights to be free, human rights, equality. How can one be free, if you deny them the right to be free? How can one be equal, if you deny one group, but do accept other groups? How can one develop themselves freely, if the organisation that is trying to achieve this, is being denied?
Triodos is just one example, there are many other financial companies that do exactly the same. It are companies like these that force women into exploitation and forced prostitution, is that called freedom, equality and a better society?

Dutch version
Prostitutes sign petition against false claims Jojanneke
Jojannke on Tour with the ChristenUnie
Remember when Jojanneke claimed in several articles in the media, that 70% of the window prostitutes would be forced? And remember how district attorney Warner ten Kate stated this as a fact in the TV show made by Jojanneke about prostitution? Well, I don't need to tell anyone that these statistics are complete bullshit. After all, there's still no source, and the only thing Warner ten Kate was able to say about this magical number, was that it was based on the 'Schone Schijn' report, which is nothing more than some random guesswork by the police as to how much percent of the prostitutes they think are coerced or being exploited, not an actual research.

Warner ten Kate his pathetic attempt in NRC to blame his quotes from the documentary on Jojanneke, calling it 'Jojanneke her statements', while in fact they were clearly his statements, shows how insecure he is about this. Also the fact that until this day he is not able to provide with the report which would make this claim, and the fact that in his own reply he's terrified to even mention the number, because he knows it's wrong.
Jojanneke on her hand got what she wanted. A documentary with false statistics, giving a completely one sided vision on prostitution: Jojanneke her vision on prostitution. It's no secret that Jojanneke was against prostitution, calling it already two years before the start of the documentary 'idiotic', and claiming that according to her 80% were forced, and outspoken favoring the Swedish prostitution model as the way to go (making all clients criminals, and impossible for sex workers to work safe and legal).

No, the documentary made by Jojanneke was nothing more than a PR stunt from the political party ChristenUnie, and their crusade against prostitution. It also shouldn't come as a surprise that she's even on tour for the ChristenUnie to talk about it, Jojanneke claims exactly what the ChristenUnie wants to hear: prostitution is wrong. But of course, this is just pure coincidence, right?
But of course, what they never accounted for, was that sex workers themselves would speak out against them. After all, for years people like Jojanneke (think for example about Renate van der Zee), made false claims about us, and sex workers simply didn't talk back. Jojanneke simply had back luck that there were people like me, and others, to speak out against this type of bullshit.

In their defense they wrote an open letter, Jojanneke and all her anti-prostitution friends, claiming that the discussion shouldn't be about the statistics, but about the victims. But than again, who was it again that started throwing around false statistics to claim things that simply aren't true? Which group was it, that for years have been claiming enormous statistics based on bullshit reports that did hardly any, to no research at all at times, to claim that prostitutes didn't want to do this job.
With statistics being used by Gert-Jan Segers (who signed the letter), Myrthe Hilkens (who signed the letter), Jojanneke van den Berge (who signed the letter), Renate van der Zee (who signed the letter), Linda Futa-Van Gogh (signed the letter)  and many other famous anti-prostitution people and organisations, who claimed the majority of prostitutes would be forced, and they didn't want to do this job. Who was it that made these claims using statistics? Who was it that started throwing around false statistics, sometimes even without any report to back it up, and all other reports being based on such bad research even a 3-year old could do it better!

Their defense was as pathetic as Warner ten Kate his open letter in NRC is. A pathetic attempt to achieve a number of goals they have their will set on. Plans like criminalizing 'wrong Johns' who supposedly should know they were visiting a victim. Plans like a pimp ban, which just so happened to be launched by ChristenUnie's Gert-Jan Segers at the same day it was being mentioned in Jojanneke her TV show, even before that episode aired!
No, it became very clear that the Public Prosecution Office, ChristenUnie and Jojanneke had the same goals with this documentary. To create a TV documentary that would support the idea of criminalizing 'wrong' Johns, and even criminalize pimps (in regular terms an employer of a prostitute). This documentary was never being made to show the truth, but was a vessel, a means to an end. And the end was to criminalize 'wrong' clients and pimps, because that's something all of them want, without caring about the consequences for sex workers or victims for that matter.

And when this bullshit TV show was being aired on national TV, falsely informing people about the prostitution industry, hoping they would get enough support from the public opinion to execute their plans, I started a small petition. The idea was to show people that things being stated in this documentary are far from the truth. Things like the idea that 70% of the prostitutes would be forced.
I did the petition with girls just in my own office, which has around 50 windows in Amsterdam's Red Light District.

In total 56 women signed the petition. Meaning that behind every window in my office there's a woman that doesn't agree with the statements made in this TV show. Meaning that not just themselves aren't victims, but they also don't recognize the image that 70% of the girls working here would be forced, which stretches far beyond the 56 women that signed it.
Looking back at the petition, perhaps I should have asked other girls from other brothels to sign it as well. But at least this shows, that from only one brothel with around 50 windows, there are already 56 women that don't agree with this image being presented about us. Can you imagine what would happen if I asked all the girls working at other brothels as well?

People often try to put away my blog as 'one prostitute's perspective', as if I would only be speaking for myself. That's absolute bullshit, in fact, I more often speak out the general opinion of the girls, than just that one of my own. I don't always agree with everything they say, but that's how it works.
If I would just be voicing my own opinion, I wouldn't be doing it for such a long time. I know what I'm saying is not just my perspective, but the perspective of hundreds of girls I know working in Amsterdam's Red Light District, and I'm telling you now that percentages of 50% or more coercion are absolute bullshit!

As you can see in the petition, I also mentioned the fact that the reason why so many windows have closed down, and are still due to close down, is because the city of Amsterdam claims so many of us are forced. This also shows those women don't agree with closing down windows, after all, how could they? Would you be happy if someone closes down your only place to work, with as an excuse that 'it's better for you' because we're saving you?
For too long people have been able to make false claims about us. Whether that are people from the city, because they want to close down our windows, or people on TV because they don't like our profession. A storm is coming, the dogs are awake, don't fuck with us or you'll have a serious problem. This is just the beginning!


Dutch version


New raids in Alkmaar harass sex workers
The police raid of 2013 in Alkmaar
I don't write much about other cities in Holland with prostitution, for the very simple fact that I don't work there, so I don't know what's going on there. I like to stick to the facts, and not speculate on things. But sometimes things cross my path that I think deserve more attention, and this is one of those things.

And before I will jump into what has happened recently in Alkmaar, I first want to give you a little bit of background information. Alkmaar has 69 windows. But like in Amsterdam, and almost every other city in Holland with window prostitution, also Alkmaar has suffered from politicians that want to get rid of window prostitution. Once there used to be 129 windows, now only 69 remain.
When I started working in Holland in window prostitution, there wasn't any place in a window in Amsterdam, so for the first few weeks I was working from Alkmaar. I liked it there, although if I could choose now between Alkmaar and Amsterdam, I'd prefer Amsterdam since you can just make more money here with the tourists. At the time there were much more windows than there are now. I went back a while ago, and noticed how much the place has changed. So many windows have closed down.

And just like with Amsterdam, also in Alkmaar they use the stories of forced prostitution and human trafficking as a reason to close down windows. In fact, a couple of years ago (2013) they did a huge police raid in the area, in which everyone was taken down to the city hall for questioning. And with everyone I really mean everyone, all the sex workers, but also everyone that just happened to be walking in that street at the moment. Personal stuff was taken from the sex workers their workplace, including money they had earned that night, which they never got back.
Subsequently all the women that were taken to city hall were questioned separately for hours (in most cases 3 to 4 hours), until the next morning. Some women (or so I've heard) were taken to city hall still wearing their working outfit, to subsequently be interrogated for hours, getting the most privacy violating ever asked by the police and officials from the city. Questions such as: Do you enjoy having sex with you boyfriend? Do you enjoy having sex with your customers? How many times a day do you have sex with your boyfriend?

Prostitutes were intimidated, manipulated, forced and human rights were violated during this raid. They had to sign a statement in Dutch they couldn't understand because they couldn't read Dutch, and many women were angry and some even slightly traumatized because of these events.
More than 500 police officers and government officials were involved in the raid in a street not even 130 meters long, with only 57 window prostitutes. The foundation Geisha, who was still alive at that time to fight for sex workers rights, claimed to take the city of Alkmaar to court for this. That never happened, as so often with Geisha, they claimed a lot of things but never did anything for sex workers in this country.

Th city of Alkmaar later claimed the raid to be a huge success, and claimed they had arrested two people on suspicion of human trafficking. The mayor claimed that the prostitutes appreciated the attention for their position of a possible victim of human trafficking. The city of Alkmaar also claimed only 9 prostitutes were 'clean' after research, and suspected the other 48 girls of being victims. None of suspects that were arrested that night were charged with anything however. The claim that only 9 prostitutes would be clean turned out to be a false claim.
In short, the claims of the city and the mayor of Alkmaar seem to be almost the opposite of the girls themselves. The mayor claiming the women were happy to be seen as possible victims, Geisha claiming the women were not happy at all and some even slightly traumatized. A typical example of how governments lie to justify their actions against sex workers.

And now, last week an article appeared that again the city of Alkmaar is trying to intimidate window prostitutes. This time not at their workplace, but at home. But not to make the same mistake they made last time, this time the pretended to be investigating the safety of the house they were living in.
In reality however the women were woken up in the morning by a group of about 5 people, 2 of which were from the police, 3 city officials.
They didn't want to show their ID, according to statement of of the girls, but did want to ask like 80 questions. Unlike one might expect from an investigation about the safety of one's house, they were asking personal questions. Questions such as: If they were married, if they had children, if they were brought to their work by someone, if they were free to go where they wanted, how much money they made a week, if they had a protector, if someone goes with her when she does out, etc. Indeed, things that have nothing to do with the safety of one's house, but things that very much seem to be aimed at finding out of the girls are victims of human trafficking.

Now, since these women are foreign (both Bulgarian), they were not aware of the fact that they could deny them access to her house. But even if they did know, it's quite intimidating to have 5 people standing in front of your door, including two police men. Which also begs the question why the police was involved? After all, if this was an investigation for the safety of the house, as the city claimed later, why was there any police required at all?
When one of the girls asked why the police was there, they answered that was because some people didn't want to let them inside. Which proves that they couldn't really deny them access to their house, even if they wanted to, because that's why the police was there.

It seems like yet again the city of Alkmaar is trying to harass sex workers by violating their privacy, insinuating they're coerced, and violating their rights, all under false pretenses. It's a typical, and very recognizable example of how not only cities work, and politicians lie, but also about how the police works. Their methods are very recognizable for a lot of sex workers, including myself, using intimidation, abusing the lack of knowledge of local laws of foreign sex workers in their advantage to violate their privacy and their human rights.

Politicians, the police and other authorities always seem to be convinced most of us are victims, while in reality we are not. Fueled by false statistics created by the police themselves, christian organisations or rescue organisations with a financial interest to claim such thing, we are being treated as victims. A strange thing, because most of us are not victims at all, the only thing we're being victims of, is being treated like one.
And convincing others as sex worker that you're not a victim is always incredibly difficult. Things which with any other job wouldn't raise anyone's eyebrows, are in prostitution immediately seen as a clear sign of human trafficking.

Dutch version
Another 108 million euro to take away sexworker's workplaces
Fashion shops to replace Amsterdam's trade mark window prostitution
With Project 1012 moving in the last phase of it's completion, another 108 million euro is needed to complete it's task of closing down window prostitution in Amsterdam. That was the information that was published yesterday in an article in the newspaper De Telegraaf. The project, which has as a goal to reduce window prostitution in Amsterdam with 40% and reduce the amount of coffeeshops, has already closed down 117 windows for prostitution thus far, and is still set on closing down 94 more windows.
In total Amsterdam will go from 512 windows back in 2007 to 320 windows at the end of the project, and will have cost approximately 500 women a safe and above all a legal place to work. Women that will receive no help from the government of any kind, and are simply left without a place to work, resulting in an increase of illegal prostitution, as we've already noticed in the last couple of years.

Currently 395 windows remain for sex workers in Amsterdam, but with 94 more windows threatened to close down, the 19 window brothels offered by the city's multiplicity is by far not sufficient to replace the loss of those 94 windows, or the 117 windows the city has already lost.
From those 94 windows that are still scheduled to close down, already 10 windows have been bought, and will close down in January 2016. This still leaves 84 more windows to be bought, for which a budget is needed of 108 million euro. A large part of that money is tax payers money, which get's used to kick out women from their only legal place to work, but still 24 million is needed to complete the estimated budget of 108 million euro for this. With almost 80% of it's budget complete, it seems like almost a matter of time before the city finds another investor to throw it's money away into the bottomless pit of Project 1012.

Because looking at the result of Project 1012, it certainly hasn't been a profitable project for the investors. Buildings that once used to be brothels have now turned into cheese shops, art galleries, 'fashion' shops and other small businesses which hardly make any profit at all. In fact, the profits from those businesses have been so bad, that many of the business owners can't make enough money to pay for the rent, while sex workers would gladly pay easily double the price for those same buildings to work in. Right now many of the business that now occupy these ex-brothels get subsidized by the city as placeholders, to prevent prostitution from returning in those buildings.

Beyond the fact that it's a bad deal for the people that invest in this project, also tax payers their money get's spend on a project to reduce Amsterdam's most famous touristic attraction. A touristic attraction which is responsible for more than 1/3 of Amsterdam's tourism, and generates an annual income for the city somewhere between 85 and 170 million euro.
It's no secret that Amsterdam's Red Light District and coffeeshops are at the heart of tourism in Amsterdam. Mention the city of Amsterdam to anyone abroad, and the first things they'll mention are drugs and prostitutes, the same things Project 1012 wants to reduce with about 40%.

Besides being bad for the sex workers, who loose their only legal place to work and will revert to illegal prostitution, causing authorities more problems than they solve. And beyond the huge impact this will have on tourism and the economy for Amsterdam, and the fact that huge amounts of tax payers money and money from investors is being thrown away into this bottomless pit that destroys one of Amsterdam's biggest source of income, it also violates the agreement made in the city council.
Last year, the city council agreed that not more money would be spend on Project 1012. Yet the 108 million euro that is required to finish this project, seems to completely violate that agreement.

The project was once sold to the audience as an 'upgrade of the area' and to 'fight human trafficking'. The upgrade however was never successful, as the business now function more as placeholders than actually upgrading anything at all. Above all the businesses seem out of place in an area internationally known as an area of prostitution. Tourists which come to Amsterdam for it's prostitution feel uncomfortable going in to one of these shops, situated among window prostitutes, and clients of prostitutes feel uncomfortable going inside with prostitutes, while people from those shops seeing them going inside. In short, a bad deal for both businesses.
Beyond that, people don't go looking for shops in Amsterdam's Red Light District, it's confusing for everyone. If people want to shop, they'll go to the famous Albert Cuyp Market, or the expensive P.C. Hoofdstraat, not the Red Light District. And the customers of window prostitutes are also not happy with it. They rely on privacy and discretion, something that is not provided with an art gallery across the street.

Also the argument of fighting human trafficking has never been proven. In not one single case has it ever been proven that a woman working behind a window that was closed down that she was a victim of human trafficking. In fact, it's completely unknown what happened to the women that have lost their only legal workplace. Most likely they have disappeared into illegal prostitution, a problem the police and other authorities in Holland are desperately trying to fight.
Meanwhile the victims of trafficking that are still present in Amsterdam's Red Light District don't receive any help from this project. Kicking them out onto the street will not relieve them from the problems of working for a pimp that is exploiting them.

Why so much money is needed for a project that not only increases the chance of human trafficking, but above all damages tourism and the local economy, is a guess. Apparently someone's making a lot of money somewhere, although it remains unclear how and where. Most likely seems to be that money is being made with the real estate that is being sold. And whoever that person or those people are, they're making a lot more money than the 108 million that is still required to close down the remaining 94 windows. But of course these are all deals that are happening behind closed doors.
Whoever they are, not only are the endangering the lives of 500 women, violating the agreement of the city council not to invest more money in this project and damaging the income generated by tourism the businesses in the city center depend on, they seem to be completely focused on their benefit and not that of the city.

I talked the other day with a couple of girls working at another brothel. Also they agreed with me. If more windows close down, this will be the death of Amsterdam. Every year almost 1 million people come to visit Amsterdam's Red Light District. The people that visit the district like to spend money. They like to party, go wild, have fun. They are willing to spend a lot of money in the local shops, the coffeeshops, but also with girls like us.
We've talked already with so many of our customers, tourists that spend a lot of money here, that have said they don't want to return here, because there's almost nothing left anymore of Amsterdam's Red Light District. This is the one thing many tourists come to Amsterdam for, to smoke a joint and visit legally a prostitute. Closing down more windows will heavily damage not only the economy, but more importantly damage Amsterdam's image of the of drugs, prostitution and tolerance.

Amsterdam without it's coffeeshops and window prostitution, is like Paris without the Champs Élysée and Eifel Tower. It destroys anything that is unique to this city, for which tourists decide to visit Amsterdam. It's destroying Amsterdam's unique selling points, turning it into another boring European city: a city without a soul.
So, even though the project is costing another 108 million euro, both tax payers money and money from investors. And even though investing in this project is a complete waste of money, destroying tourism and the local economy responsible for 85-170 million euro a year. And even though the city council agreed not to invest more money into this project, and they're violating that agreement by continuing to search for more investors to close the gap of 24 million euro. They simply don't care, because real estate and money is more important to them than the local economy, agreements with political parties or the lives of 500 women.

Dutch version


Were the women forced in the windows that have been closed down?
Recently I came across this video in which a woman from the Red Light Secrets Museum in Amsterdam explains some things about prostitution in Amsterdam. That I'm not really fond of that museum isn't a secret, I already wrote an angry blogpost about how this museum gives a distorted image about workinga behind the windows and the women that work there. The museum seems to aim at giving the people the idea that the girls work in disgusting rooms, on stained beds (I almost felt I had to throw up when I saw how the bed in the museum looked like), and playing the whole 'this-could-be-your-daughter' complex by adding in teddy bears in the workroom to give people a bad feeling about it.
But the worst part about that museum in my opinion, was the usage of a video from Stop The Traffik, which gives complete false information about human trafficking in the Red Light District in Amsterdam, claiming every year 'thousands' end up here, even though there are only 400 windows and we barely have 1000 window prostitutes in Amsterdam in total, and claiming they came here under false pretenses, which even for most trafficked victims isn't the case at all.

So I know already that the people from the Red Light Secrets Museum in Amsterdam aren't very well informed. Not a strange thing, the museum is a project from the city of Amsterdam and part of Project 1012, which has as an aim to reduce the number of workplaces for window prostitutes with as an excuse fighting human trafficking. And the building in which this museum is now located, used to be a couple of windows for sex workers to work in. Now it's just a place where they're just giving out false information about our job, and I don't think that's just an accident.
One of the reasons why, is of course because it's a project of the city of Amsterdam itself, which needs to use false information to justify their project of closing down windows of women. The second reason is that one of the people that used to work on setting up this museum was Ilonka Stakelborough, the former chairman of Geisha, an organisation that was supposed to improve the position of sex workers, but in reality never did anything at all.
Recently we got informed that Ilonka has already been suspended by Geisha as a chairman by the other people in that organisation. Not a strange thing if you consider some of the bullshit she told the media, and the fact that she worked on creating a bad image for sex workers behind the window with this museum.

But that the people in this museum know little about the reality of what's going on around them, get's proven again with this video. In the video a woman claims that some windows on the other side are closing down because women working there would be forced, or so she read in the newspaper.
And indeed, the newspapers did try and make it look that way. But we also know that none of the windows she's talking about, have closed down, even though they should have been closed down already. So it looks like just another attempt from the city of Amsterdam and the mayor to give the Red Light District a bad name, and again without any proof. And the 6 windows that did close down recently, weren't closed down because girls working there would be forced, but because the owner of those buildings sold it to the city of Amsterdam.
In short, it's not true at all that windows closed down because women would be forced behind those windows. In fact, of all the 117 windows that have closed down by now, never has it ever been proven that even a single woman was forced who worked behind those windows. And this is a recurring thing, as we've also seen happening in Utrecht. Also there people claimed windows were closed down due to women being forced, but until this day that has never been proven.

In fact, looking at the 673 windows that have been closed down in Holland. Almost all of those windows were closed down with the story that women working behind those windows would be forced. But in none of those cases has it ever been proven.
It's the constant universal truth about window prostitution in Holland. They've closed down 673 windows here, always with an excuse that subsequently never gets proven. But by the time that it becomes clear that the windows are closed under false suspicions, it's already too late. The windows are closed, and once they are closed they never open up again. This is the result of the fact that's it's almost impossible to get a permit for prostitution, and that's even if they want you back at all.

This is again proof that constantly people are trying to close down prostitution, using lies and false information. But it also proves that people just believe that information, even though it gets proven time after time again that this is not true.
Brothel owners are always being put away as evil, and that they would be facilitating and even helping pimps with human trafficking. A strange thing, since even after for example the city of Amsterdam tried to get them away using a BIBOB procedure (a procedure using your possible criminal history to close down your business), it turned out there was nothing wrong with the brothel owners. They couldn't prove a damn thing! Time after time I see the brothel owners getting blamed for things nobody has ever proved to be true at all!

Also now the city of Amsterdam is still trying to give brothel owners a bad name, with their plan to open up 19 prostitution windows. They claim that this will be a 'pimp free' brothel, as if other brothels are not 'pimp free', even though they have no evidence to support this claim at all.
And fact is, that it's absolute bullshit that these 19 windows would become 'pimp free'. These 19 windows from the city of Amsterdam have just as much potential for human trafficking, as any other brothel. Just because a brothel is run by different people, doesn't take away the problems of human trafficking. But that of course goes in against the story that Amsterdam wants to use to justify the closures of those other brothels. After all, if it's not the fault of the person running the brothel, their whole claim to close down brothels to fight human trafficking falls apart.

And how does closing down windows actually help to fight human trafficking? We're not solving any problems with that, we're just pushing them away, into illegal prostitution. The free working women will be forced to continue their work in less safe places, since there aren't any other legal options anymore. And those women that are forced, certainly won't be helped, if they disappear into the dark abyss of illegal prostitution.

Fact is that it has never been proven that the women behind the windows that have been closed, or are still going to close down, are forced. Take for example the 6 windows that closed down last January in the Bethlehemsteeg. I knew all of those girls working there, none of them were forced, I can guarantee you that. Yet, the city of Amsterdam keeps claiming that they're closing down windows where women are forced, which is absolutely not true. After all, if they knew those women would be forced, why don't they help them in stead of kicking them out onto the street?
The other thing Amsterdam keeps claiming is that closing down windows will help the fight against human trafficking, because the area becomes smaller and therefore easier to control. Which is just another way of saying that they don't have enough capacity, and in stead of investing in more manpower, they'd rather just close their eyes to those women they kick out onto the street, and only want to focus on those women in the windows they are not going to close down. In other words, they simply don't care about the women in the windows they want to close down.

Dutch version
How to start in window prostitution in Amsterdam?
Since I've started my blog I've regularly been contacted by women, about how they could start working behind the windows in Amsterdam. I guess this proves that there are still people who want to work in prostitution, although there are others that claim nobody would want to.
But more importantly it proves how difficult it is to begin with this job, and the lack of information and help to get started, which again makes them vulnerable to human trafficking. Because if there's nobody around to help you with this, and give you the information you need, it's easy for a human trafficker to take advantage over that, and making you a victim.

Now I've been working behind the scenes at PROUD a lot to improve these things, although this will take some time. Many politicians are more focused on fighting human trafficking, using clients as their shield and letting them take the fall for them if they get it wrong, by criminalizing them if 'they should have known' it was a victim. A ridiculous idea of course, because the point of course is that clients hardly ever know they're visiting a victim, which is the same problem the police has, which is also the reason this crime still exists.
What they don't realize so much however, is that if they want to tackle the problem of human trafficking, it's not about how many you can save after they've become victims (by using clients as private detectives and punishing them with jail if they didn't get it right), but by preventing they become a victim in the first place. And this happens when they step into prostitution.

The other day I received an e-mail from a Dutch woman, who wanted to know how she could start working behind the windows. It's not the first e-mail I got with this question, as I got several e-mails already from both Dutch and foreign women with this question. And it's not so weird, since there's very little information online available about this.
Now if you can imagine that it's already difficult for a Dutch woman to find out how to start working behind the windows, now imagine it for a foreign woman who doesn't speak the local language, doesn't know where to look for the information, and on top of that also has the problems of immigration. This makes them very vulnerable to human traffickers, who gladly will help them out in an attempt to exploit them for money. So the key to stop human trafficking for a large part lies within facilitating a safe and legal way in, that takes away the need for human traffickers their 'help'.

Now, to start things of I will explain that prostitution is a legal job in Holland already since 1911. Many people think we've only legalized it back in 2000, but this is incorrect, in 2000 they nearly lifted the brothel ban, it wasn't illegal before to work as a prostitute or visit one for that matter.
And working behind the windows means you become a self employed business owner or ZZP'er as they call it here in Holland. Each window prostitute is a ZZP'er and is the owner of her own prostitution company. As self employed business owner you than rent a workplace from a brothel owner that rents out windows, so basically nothing more than someone that rents out space to self employed business owners. Sadly however you need a permit for a brothel, unlike with other self employed businesses, which are given out by the city and they hardly ever give out permits at all, which is also the reason why prostitutes never tried to set up their own brothel, as ms. Shahsavari naively stated in her column a while ago. You can't, since you need a permit for this, and Amsterdam hardly ever gives out permits at all.
Beyond a permit as a brothel, window prostitution is only allowed in buildings that have been appointed by the city as a destination for prostitution. And since they only appointed those buildings that were already brothels, you can never open up a new one, since you're not allowed to open one up in a building that has no destination for prostitution, And the ones that do, they are currently closing down, so that's not making things any better either.

To begin with window prostitution you need to have a few things first. You need a valid passport or ID, you need to be 21 or older in Amsterdam, you need to be registered at the municipality where you're living and for foreign people from outside of Europe they need to have a visa (a tourist visa doesn't count) and a bank account (forget about trying to get a business account, they won't give you one).

To start off with you would first need to set up your own prostitution company. Which means you need to go to the Chambers of Commerce to register your prostitution company, something that ms. Shahsavari is apparently unaware of, since she stated in her column the question why prostitutes don't register at the Chambers of Commerce. But fact is that without being registered at the Chambers of Commerce you can't work in prostitution legal, so we do ms. Shahsavari!
You have to take with you a valid ID, the registration that you are registered at a municipality (also known as a GBA form) and you would need to have an address where you can register your prostitution company. Be warned, not all landlords allow you to register your company at the address where you live, so be sure to check that before you move ahead,

You can register yourself as a prostitution company at the Chambers of Commerce, but I would advise you not to do that. Other people can look this up online for only a small payment, and beyond that also several other websites copy all of the companies information and publish them online to find companies. I found my own company back on several other websites, which took me a hell of a lot of work to take down, and in one of them I was even mentioned as a prostitution company including my address, phone number and real name. You don't want that, so I would advise you to register yourself as a company that provides personal services which is called Persoonlijke Dienstverlening in Dutch. This is also the only other thing you can register your company under, besides a prostitution company.
Now that you have set up your own company you should also automatically be registered for taxes with the Dutch IRS called the Belastingdienst. Since you need to pay taxes I would advise you to find a good accountant that can do all the paperwork for you. Usually other colleagues can refer you to one, or you can ask the brothel owner if they know someone, they mostly know good people.

Now that all the paperwork and registration is done, you can finally start searching for a place to work behind the windows. So people that always claim they ended up behind the windows from one day to the next are lying, this is almost like those police movies that skip on the paperwork that comes with the job to skip towards the action. In reality you can't skip that, so those stories are either bullshit, or were happening before it was obligated to be registered at the Chambers of Commerce, which was before 2000.
Make sure you take all your paperwork with you when you go to look for a place to work. So your GBA registration, your Chambers of Commerce registration, your ID and visa. Without those you will never get a room, and they'll simply send you home and tell you to come back when you do have the papers with you. Make sure you take all those papers with you every day when you go back to work, because if you don't have them with you every day, they'll simply send you home. They don't want to risk their permit over someone who forget their papers.

Finding a place to work in window prostitution is not easy. Once there used to be 2006 windows in Holland, now there are only 1333 windows left. Amsterdam alone already went from 512 windows to currently 395 windows, so there are a lot of girls fighting over those windows.
But to set you off into the right direction you would first need to go to the brothel owner to see if there's a room available at all. Brothel owners don't advertise online generally, so the best way to find them is to walk into the Red Light District until you will see in one of the windows a sign hanging with the address and phone number of the brothel if you want to rent a window.
My advise would be not to call, but to go to the address. Brothel owners are scared to loose their permit because they let in one girl they didn't know and they don't want trouble, so they want to see you and talk to you before they'll rent out a window to a girl they've never done business with before. This also goes in against all those people who always think you can just get a window anywhere, and the brothel owners are to blame for human trafficking. They have no interest to hide human trafficking within their brothels, since that could only cost them their permit, and with that their entire business, which is not something they want to risk. Especially not because there are plenty of girls without problems they can rent the window to.

The prices for the windows range from the day time between € 80 and € 110 to the night time which is around € 150 to € 160. Windows in the night are more expensive, since the night times are more popular due to the fact that there are more clients around to make money with. Currently the day time is very quiet, and many girls have trouble to even make enough money to cover the costs of their window. So I guess all those 'supposed' pimps won't be so happy with that, since they would loose more money than they would supposedly be making in the day time.
You pay the room per shift, meaning you either pay for a room during the day or for a room during the night. The rooms are paid per day, and not by month or by week. However, if you come into the office of the brothel owner, and they have a room available for more days that week, and you want to make a reservation for that room for more days, you are expected to pay in advance for those days, as an insurance to them that you will actually show up. Otherwise they would only loose money keeping the room reserved for you, while you don't show up and didn't pay for it, while other girls gladly would have paid for that same room.

These days the brothel owner will make you do an intake interview. This is not something they like to do, but it's obligated to do by the city government. They ask you a bunch of stupid questions, which are intended to find out if you're a victim of trafficking or not, but in no way help to actually find out about that. You do the intake interview, and if you can get a room, you pay for the room in advance and than you can finally get your key for your workplace.

The workplaces are very simply. Some people call them small, but than again we don't live there, so we don't need much space. All workplaces have a bed, a chair, a locker for your stuff, a sink and a mirror and a mattress. Some brothel owners supply a sheet and pillow for the bed, others (because of city regulations) don't. So it's wise to pack a towel and pillow with you. All workplaces have a toilet and a shower shared and some have their own.
Any other things like condoms, lubricant, costume, shoes etc. are all things you need to arrange for yourself. After all, you are now a self employed business owner.

All the other things are usually explained by the brothel owner. They usually have a set of house rules, and explain you usually what they do and do not allow. Brothel owners are very careful people, since there's a lot of pressure from the government, and they can loose their permit if they don't do one thing right. So please follow their rules, and do as they say, it's not for their own good, but simply because the government wants things that way, or otherwise they can loose their permit.

For further information I'd like to refer you to the website of the SOAIDS Fund, who have a lot of information available about working in prostitution. You can find the information on this link.
Also for Amsterdam the P&G292 has valuable information about how to start working in prostitution on this link.

One advise for those that are considering to work in prostitution, and especially window prostitution. It's not a job for everyone, you get to meet a lot of different people, and some of them can be quite crazy. It's not a job without risks, but on the other hand you do get to meet a lot of people.
Window prostitution is a job for strong women that like to work and meet lots of different people. You get to talk a lot, be your own boss, plus have a very good salary most people could only dream about having. Don't try and get personal with clients, I've seen this happening before, and basically you fuck up your own work. And do remember, as a window prostitute you're out in the public for everyone to see. This means family or friends could recognize you standing behind the windows if they pass there. Beyond that there are many people that will try to take pictures or videos of you, so be warned about that. And getting daily insults isn't for everyone, so you have to be capable of handling yourself.

In short, it's a good payment, can be a fun job, meeting many different types of people, and being your own boss. But you have to be really strong, and this job isn't for everyone. Think good about it before making a decisions, but always be proud of the decisions you've made and be proud of yourself no matter what other people say.

Dutch version


Less legal workplaces equals more human trafficking
A map of which windows are closing down in Amsterdam
With a new plan to open up a city brothel in Amsterdam people seem to think the city of Amsterdam has gone into a new direction with it's prostitution policy. For years the city of Amsterdam have been closing down windows with as an excuse to fight forced prostitution and human trafficking, while in reality it was nothing more than a simple way to make money with the real estate of these buildings. So far 117 windows have been closed down of the once 512 windows that used to be available in Amsterdam, leaving only 395 windows.

Some people seem to think that since the city of Amsterdam is now offering 19 windows to sex workers to run their own brothel, that the closures of windows have stopped. But that's not the case at all. In fact, all the decisions have been made already, financially everything is ready, legally every bump in the road has been taken out of the way, there's nothing stopping Project 1012 anymore from closing the remaining 94 windows as scheduled.
Sure, getting back 19 windows is nice, but closing down almost 100 more doesn't add up to that. Those new city brothels are nothing more than a way of giving Project 1012 a more friendlier face, and to encapsulate the sex workers that have always criticized the closure of windows. After all, if the city gives sex workers 19 windows, they can never claim anymore that they weren't listened to, thus silencing them and getting rid of the last obstacle before closing down the 94 windows that are still scheduled to close down.

According to the city, closing down windows will lead to less human trafficking. In their logic, if there is less prostitution, there's also less chance of human trafficking. But fact is of course that there isn't any less prostitution because of this plan, there are just less workplaces, not less prostitutes. And that's exactly the mistake the city made.
Because where will all those women now go, when they have no more legal workplace to work in? Project 1012 will cost 500 women their only legal and safe workplaces. And unlike other businesses, prostitutes can't just start their business everywhere, they need to work in a building where prostitution is allowed, plus they need a license for that. And the problem is that in reality hardly ever the government gives out licenses for prostitution, making it impossible for sex workers or other business owners to start a new brothel.

Fact is that 500 women will loose their place to work because of Project 1012. But since they don't have any other legal alternatives, since hardly ever permits are given out for new brothels, while at the other hand the city does close down a large part of the existing brothels, this forces prostitutes into two directions.
The first one is the most obvious one, which is illegal prostitution. After all, if you can't do it legal, because the government takes away that opportunity without replacing it with an alternative, this won't stop prostitutes from trying to make money the way they know how to make money. So their work continues, only this time they do it in buildings and houses that don't have a permit for it, making it illegal prostitution. It's not by chance that illegal prostitution has grown immensely over the past few years. With the rise of the internet it's becoming easier to connect with the clients, and with less and less legal workplaces in Holland (in window prostitution alone 673 workplaces have been closed down 1/3 of the amount 15 years ago), it has become a logical step for many girls that have lost their place to work.

Working illegal does however create one problem. Girls that used to work in a legal brothel are used to the protection, either from the security guys of a brothel, or from the police like the window prostitutes get. And since you don't want to notify the police that you're working somewhere where it's illegal, you need to find some other form of protection.
And this is where things become more dangerous again. Because the whole idea of the legalization back in 2000 was that (indeed) prostitution will continue no matter what, but the best way to protect them is to keep them in sight and protect them that way. But when you're working in illegal prostitution all those things aren't there, which creates a demand for security, and this is where pimps come in to play again. Now some of those pimps just do what they should do, and offer protection and get paid for it, there's nothing wrong with that. But if you have bad luck you run into a pimp that wants to exploit you, and you become a victim of human trafficking, and eventually you might end up being forced to work, which was exactly the thing they wanted to stop!

And than you have the second alternative, which is to go to another country where prostitution is still legal. Many girls that leave Amsterdam go to Germany, Austria or Belgium, but again the same problems arise as when they first came to Amsterdam: trafficking.
Because now they need to move again to another country, and the same problems that apply to moving to Amsterdam, apply to moving to any other country as well: you need help! And since the person helping a prostitute with the migration is by law called a human trafficker, it has become impossible to migrate to another country without becoming a victim.
Most girls fortunately already know a friend that works in another country, who helps them with their migration, so technically almost every prostitute is both a victim and a perpetrator in this case, but than again, who isn't? But some girls won't be fortunate enough to know a girl in another country, and the only way she can get to another country, is with the help of pimps who want to exploit her.
Congratulations, we have yet again achieved more human trafficking this way!

It is ironic that a plan that was sold as a plan to reduce human trafficking, actually creates more human trafficking than it solves. Although you might wonder if closing down windows helps victims at all. After all, just because they won't have a legal place to work anymore, won't mean their pimp won't force them to work as a prostitute anymore. After all, I don't think pimps would back out of it simply because it's now illegal, what they're doing is already illegal, which is kind of the point of being a criminal.
So girls that are already victims of human trafficking, that are being forced and/or exploited, won't get saved by closing down legal workplaces. In fact, they'll only end up in a more shady place, without the protection of the police, out of sight for the authorities, and unable to reach for help.
And the girls that aren't victims, well, their risk of becoming a victim has only been increased by taking away their only place to work legal. After all, if they move into illegal prostitution they have more chance of becoming a victim because there's no police protection, and girls moving to other countries to work in prostitution over there yet again have the risk of becoming victims of trafficking due to their need to receive help with their migration.

No, Amsterdam's Project 1012 doesn't create less human trafficking, it only increases the chance to become victims, while the ones that are already victims aren't helped with this. So we're risking the lives of 500 women for some real estate, and Amsterdam isn't the only one. After all, thus far 673 windows have been closed down in Holland since the brothel ban was lifted 15 years ago, of the 2000 windows Holland once used to have. This means roughly 1800 women have lost their place to work thus far. Holland once had place for about 5300 window prostitutes, right now there's only place left for 3500 of them.
Where those 1800 women are that have lost their workplace, nobody knows and nobody seems to care about. After all, what you can't see, you don't have to worry about. One thing we do know, illegal prostitution has grown over the last decade. Politicians claim this has nothing to do with the fact that windows are closing down, I beg the differ. After all, without the option to open up a legal workplace yourself, or together with other sex workers or for other business owners for that matter, it leaves them little to no choice but to continue their work either abroad or illegal in this country, with both increasing the chances of becoming victims of forced prostitution and exploitation.

Thus far 1800 women have become the victim of greedy Dutch cities, which value more real estate than women their lives. Selling their real estate projects under the name of 'fighting human trafficking', while actually increasing the risk of human trafficking, it has become clear that the situation hasn't improved. And how could it? After all, which worker benefits from having their only legal workplace being taken away? Who's safety is being improved by not being able to work legal anymore? Which victims can be saved by simply closing your eyes to them, and shoving them onto the streets, while pretending to fight it?
And those 1800 women, are only the window prostitutes. In total Holland has closed 1/3 of all the legal workplace for sex workers in this country since it's legalization. Clubs, escort agencies, windows, brothels. In total 1/3 of those workplaces have been closed down, almost every single one of them under the name of 'fighting forced prostitution'.

They estimate that there are 20.000 prostitutes in Holland working legal. That estimation has been around already since the legalization itself back in 2000. Imagine that 1/3 of those women, more than 6500 women have lost their place to work, and have been forced to either move abroad with a chance of some pimp taking advantage of their vulnerable position, or moved into illegal prostitution where they again could become the victim of a pimp forcing and/or exploiting them.
Have those 6500 women their situation been improved, because people claim the ridiculous idea that taking away safe and legal workplaces are better for the workers? But sure, Amsterdam keeps continuing to take away more legal workplaces, as well as Groningen I've heard recently. In 20 more years there won't be a legal workplace left anymore, and we'll be right back where we started 20 years ago. Women working illegal in prostitution. Not because they wanted to, but because the government is more interested in money than in the safety of a vulnerable group of women.

But, I won't stop complaining without coming up with a solution to this problem. Word has reached my ears that some people thought I was too negative. A funny thing actually, I think if I would write down all the shit that really goes on behind the scenes, with all the problems being caused by the governments and cities, you'd actually say I'm being fairly optimistic about things, but whatever.
Because the real problem is of course that we did legalize brothels, and we made a rule that they need a permit, but it's impossible to get a permit. And of course that made it easy for cities to get rid of prostitution in their city, since all they had to do was take away their permits, and they can shut down prostitution (or at least the legal part of it). In short, the brothel ban was never lifted, it simply became a way of closing them down using the law.

So what would need to happen for the future are two things. First of all it should be made easier for prostitution companies to get a permit. After all, they claim we're a normal industry because we're legal and we pay taxes, so let them prove it by treating us like a normal industry, and let us open up new companies in stead of only allowing the existing companies (which they eventually shut down using the law and excuses).
Secondly, in Amsterdam there's a maximum amount of buildings that we're allowed to have prostitution. A weird thing, since would you put a maximum amount on how many Pizzeria's can open up? I don't think so. The idea was to contain the prostitution in areas where they allowed it. What I would suggest is a minimum amount of workplaces. The government should uphold a minimum amount of workplaces that are required to allow the sex workers to continue to do their job in a legal and safe manner. This means that no matter what, the cities are always required to keep a minimum amount of workplaces available. If they want to close down a brothel because the owner wasn't running his brothel in a good way, fine, close it down. But at least make sure there's an alternative for those sex workers who where victims of those brothel owners as well, and let them continue their work somewhere else. Than you're protecting the interests of sex workers, and not brothel owners as they do now.

But for now the situation is grim. People are happy 19 windows could possibly open in Amsterdam. Yes, that's good, if it ever comes that far. But we've seen how those things have worked out before in Utrecht for example. Also there they promised new workplaces as a replacement for the old ones two years ago. Until today not a single workplace has opened up there. Also Amsterdam's plan to open up 19 new windows only seems to be nothing more than something to keep our minds of the fact that they've closed down already 117 windows, and they still will close down 94 more,
Less legal workplaces don't equal less human trafficking, in fact, it only creates more human trafficking, forces women into illegal prostitution and abroad, and does not safe a single victim. In total 1800 women have already become a victim of this, stop making more victims!

P.s. With a thank you to the people from hookers.nl for their information and wonderful maps of prostitution areas in Amsterdam.

Dutch version