User:Aam1992/sandbox/amsterdam

Amsterdam's Red Light District, also known as De Wallen, is world famous. Unlike most of the rest of the world, prostitution is legal in The Netherlands, with the exception of street prostitution. Sex workers have access to the social security system, and since 1996 have paid an income tax; by 1999, reforms gave prostitution the same status as any other form of labor. It is not just that Amsterdam as a whole has a ‘different’, more progressive image than most other cities, the Red Light District is also seen as ‘different’ from other red light districts across the globe. So paradoxically, while it stands as the paradigmatic red light district, it is in many respects quite different from other red light zones. Because of the unique moral and legal climate in the Netherlands, the Amsterdam Red Light District is not just tied to notions of danger, immorality, drugs and crime, but also to tolerance, excitement and freedom - making it one of Amsterdam’s major tourist attractions. The spaces of sex work are increasingly regarded by consumers as recreational settings, and the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Convention has designated the Red Light District as a "key quarter." The expanding mass tourism industry has played a large role in maintaining the Red Light District as a component of the city’s cultural heritage and identity, and along with the history of prostitution within the city and the spaces of the Red Light District today, this has worked dialectically: representations of the city lure potential visitors to Amsterdam. In this highly consumerist place, the commercial dimension of sex is not euphemised, it is displayed as a norm, making the transactions happening there ‘must-sees’ of the usual tourist experience of Amsterdam. By official estimates, sexual transactions alone yield about $100 million per year. The Red Light District ends up playing a big part in the cities tourism earnings, as the customer of a prostitute is also a tourist, who will need accommodation, restaurants and stores, and who might engage in other tourist attractions. About 75 percent of all prostitutes are from Eastern or Central Europe, outside the European Union, with the remaining 25 percent Dutch, or from South or Central America, according to the mayor's office. There are approximately 700 working prostitutes per day, 15 official sex clubs, and over 200,000 visitors per year. Prostitutes pay rent for their space and run an independent business with no need for pimps. They are unionized and get their business license only if they are periodically checked by a doctor and are not spreading diseases. In 2017, a group of former and active prostitutes embarked upon a new effort, setting up their own brothel, My Red Light, which is an ambitious experiment in empowering prostitutes. My Red Light aims to become the Netherlands’ first official cooperative of prostitutes, where they have a say about their work schedule and the design of the rooms, and even train for managerial positions. Safety is of the upmost importance to all involved in legal prostitution, so much so that all women are equipped with alarm buttons which alert the police within seconds. All known brothels now subject to monitoring by the police, the building authorities, and the fire service. They must comply with a number of building and safety regulations, including specific requirements of hygiene such as washable walls, and are allowed one year to put their establishment in order. Moreover, brothel-owners, like any other employer, are obliged by law to check the identity papers of the prostitutes working for them. Recently, though aware and appreciative of the Red Light District's financial benefits for the city, city leaders are now coming up with plans to reduce Amsterdam's somewhat dark reputation. Starting with working to improve the brothels, in 2013 Amsterdam's legal age for prostitution raised from 18 to 21, and brothels will be forced to remain closed between four and nine in the morning. Prostitutes will have to pass language tests and have shorter shifts, while brothel keepers will be obliged to produce business plans demonstrating how they will protect their workers' health and safety. The business plan has to include working hours, conditions and prices related with the rent of brothel windows which seems to be one of the causes of problems because the prostitutes are forced into long working days to cover the high costs. A ten-year scheme, known as Project 1012 (for the city postcode) containing the Red Light District, kicked off in 2008 with the aim of making substantial cuts to the number of window brothels and drugs shops. The main goals associated with the project are: (a) dismantling criminal infrastructure, (b) reducing concentration of criminogenic and low quality enterprises, and (c) realising a qualitative and diverse entry area. More than 100 brothels have been closed so far, midway toward the city council's goal of reducing its number by 40 percent, while one third of the 76 cannabis shops in the district, or better known "coffee shops", will be closed for the next three years. Starting in late 2018, city authorities will impose fines on tour guides who allow their customers to stare at the women in the windows. The women are working, and don't want to loose money on tourists who are looking for a free thrill. Before a guided tour starts, the guide will have to remind tourists to respect the neighborhood, businessmen, and sex workers - and to not take any pictures. The city is buying up brothels, and it has lent the first 18 windows and boudoirs for one year to young designers and photographers - women have recently been replaced by plastic mannequins in designer clothes. It's important to note that Amsterdam’s Red Light District has historically been a place of art and bohemian intervention and experimentation, including  an  experiment  in which some of the windows were worked by male prostitutes, albeit under protest of some of the women working there. While this intervention differs greatly from historical ones, it is another point that illustrates the uniqueness and importance of the zone to social life.