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