As most of you probably know, prostitution is legal in Amsterdam (I am not sure about all of the Netherlands), and in fact the Red Light District with all its cubicles and windows is a tourist attraction. The other day, I read that the mayor of Amsterdam, a certain Femke Halsema, wants to move some of those workers to another district and to indoor centers to a venue (as she said it herself) “that has some class and distinction”!
The city has come up with 3 alternative neighborhoods and is currently debating it, with the local residents, who are not necessarily amused by this move. And one of those occupants is the European Medicine Agency (EMA - the EU equivalent of FDA for medicine) that moved there from London after BREXIT. So EMA has addressed this issue at the highest level, as it says, because it claims that 2 of the sites are close to EMA, and the agency is concerned about the safety of its employees and their work neighborhood.
Madame the Mayor, however, says that there is at least a kilometre between the EMA and the two sites in question, and that «Police see few safety risks and the sex work will be indoors, without a street audience as in the red light district». And she wants the new center to be «an extraordinary place where sex workers can work safely, legally and undisturbed, and visitors can expect a wide offering of erotica, culture and entertainment»!
I must say, this Ms. Halsema is impressive, and seems to be very pragmatic and to the point. Apparently, her office released a statement last month, that [Sex work] « belongs to Amsterdam and will never go away, but the situation in the inner city is unsustainable … due to the stream of tourists who regularly misbehave and cause nuisance». Ahhh, these tourists that come from other countries and ruin the fun in Amsterdam, the city where decadence and order live happily together. Without judging the good or the bad of it, it is refreshing to see such confident politicians that call the spade a spade, instead of some English or American politicians who engage in all sorts of acts (the best is Trump’s with the porn star - Stormy Daniels), but speak of religion, and piety.
Paris, March 13, 2023
Zeejay