<--OT--> Amsterdam brothels go legit,pheeew what a relief.<vbg>
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Get a load of this, I better tell 'bubba' about this.<vbg>
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(Source:The Guardian London)
Amsterdam brothels go legit at last
By Ofira Koopmans
Sunday January 24, 1999
The brothels of Amsterdam's Red Light district, illicit but long tolerated, are to be legalised formally in a new law later this year.
Brothel owners in the Walletjes ('little quays'), where 'punters' inspect girls perched provocatively in windows, see legal recognition as an historic breakthrough. The Association of Owners of 'Window Companies' wants its members to be called not pimps but 'entrepreneurs in the relaxation industry'.
Police regulations allow brothels to operate, but statute law does not recognise their legality. In practice, a 'tolerance permit' guarantees that brothels are not prosecuted provided they fulfil certain conditions.
Now parliament is deciding which of these conditions should be entrenched in law. Prostitutes must work on an entirely voluntary and independent basis. The age of consent is 16, but brothel-owners will be held responsible if clients use the services of prostitutes aged under 18.Brothel-owners who break the rules risk closure and losing their licences. The aim is to improve the control of what goes on inside brothels.
They will be covered by administrative rather than criminal law, shifting the burden of proof from the prosecution and the police to the licence applicant. It also means that health and safety and tax inspectors, and not just the police, can be used to ensure that brothels operate under safe, fair and humane conditions.
Amsterdam police believe that, thanks to their policy, street prostitution is a much less urgent problem there than in other big cities. There are also fewer victims of violence, as prostitutes Amsterdam do not hesitate to go to the police when attacked or abused. Murder of prostitutes is rare. 'If it happens, it is really a shock,' says Klaas Wiltink, a police spokesman who is now something of a celebrity because of his frequent TV appearance to explain the city's controversial policies to the Dutch public.
Asked if legal recognition would give prostitution undue legitimacy and social acceptance, he replied: 'Why shouldn't you see it as a normal job? The ladies also have to pay taxes, just like anybody else.' They must also keep their insurance and social security in order and have to be registered with the Chamber of Commerce.
Cynthia Hendriks, a spokeswoman for Amsterdam, says the city is not afraid of becoming a magnet for pimps and prostitutes because its licensing policy will keep the number of brothels at the current level of around 60. Marleen Barth, a Labour MP working on the new law, believes legalisation puts an end to the double standard of tolerating something prohibited and clarifies the rules. 'The norm is very clear now; it is allowed to keep a brothel, but these are the rules.
'You can talk endlessly about whether prostitution is moral or not, but that doesn't get you very far. Holland is very good at that, at accepting reality and then trying to regulate it as well as possible. By making brothels legal, I think Holland is unique in making prostitution a normal branch of industry - well, normal between quotation marks.' |
