The Red Light District

With stomachs full of Indonesian food, we headed to the Red Light District, Amsterdam's oldest neighborhood, which has hosted the world's oldest profession since the 1200s. But prostitution has only been legal here since the 1980s; and business still thrives today. This creates a spectacle unique in all of Europe. But as shocking as legalized prostitution may seem to some, it is a good example of a pragmatic Dutch solution to a persistent problem.



I have been here two other times. The first time (the second was on another Rick Steves' tour), I mistakenly wandered alone down these streets during the day even though my girlfriend, who I was visiting, circled the neighborhood on my map and said "Do NOT go in here!" She suggested I might encounter some folks who would offer some unique propositions. And, in fact, she was correct. I realized my error when a guy leered at me and made some comment. Hmmm, these shops I'm passing by are no longer selling pastries or vegetables or candy! I remember telling myself, "Stop walking straight ahead--turn to your left or right and get out of here." It was my first trip to Europe and, although wide-eyed, I was understandably nervous wandering around alone and/or consulting my map in front of everyone.

Since it was dark when we walked through the district this evening, it was not easy to see the history or the sleaze--drunks in doorways, prostitutes in windows, cruising packs of twentysomethings and bachelor parties, peep shows, cannabis being smoked, sex for sale, and shops selling porn. (Of course, we could've been too early--it wasn't even 9:00 PM!) I kept my camera in my backpack--no need to call attention to myself or our group. Nor did I want to encounter a bouncer to rip it from my hands...

Although not everyone's cup of tea, Amsterdam keeps several thousand prostitutes employed--and it's all legal--prostitutes in bras, thongs, and high heels illuminated by red lights and standing in window displays, offering their bodies for sale. (Blue lights, by the way, illuminate the transvestites.) There's a Prostitution Information Center (PIC) in the neighborhood which exists solely to demystify prostitution and provides visitors information on how the trade works and what it's like to be a sex worker. Besides pamphlets, books, condoms, t-shirts, tours, and a most-commonly-asked-questions booklet, the room-rental office is next door. This is where prostitutes come to rent window space and bedrooms to use for their work--100 euros for a day shift and 150 euros for an evening. The office also sells supplies.

The prostitutes are self-employed--entrepreneurs, you might say--and negotiate directly with their customers. Working a four- to eight-hour shift, they can make about 500 euros a day. They are required to keep their premises hygienic, make sure their clients use condoms, and avoid minors. They complete tax returns and many belong to a loose union called the Red Thread. If diagnosed with HIV or AIDS, they lose their license.

Remember, this is a business so the law (not pimps) protects them. In return for their rental fee, they get security: video surveillance in the PIC, small cameras, and orange alarm lights above the doors. A pressed buzzer swiftly unleashes a burly bouncer or the police.

Although some choose prostitution as a lucrative career, others (likely most) are forced into it by circumstances--poverty, drug addiction, abusive partners, and immigration scams. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, many Eastern Europeans have flocked here and Russian and East European crime syndicates have muscled in. While the hope in the Netherlands is that sex workers are smartly regulated small-business-people, in reality the line between victim and entrepreneur is not always so clear.

Amsterdam's current city government is trying to rein in the sex trade by limiting it to this neighborhood (De Wallen). It's also hoping to splice other commerce into a district that for centuries has had variations on basically only one product. As many as half of the sex businesses here may close over the next few years--not because of prudishness, but to limit the encroachment of organized crime. A major Red Light District landlord was given the option to either lease many of his booths to the city or be zoned out of business. The city picked up the leases; and windows that once showcased "girls for rent" now showcase mannequins wearing the latest fashions--lit by lights that aren't red.

It was time to make our way home for bed. After finding the correct tram and hopping off at the right stop, we knew we were close to the hotel. This was one of our landmarks--i.e., we knew we were not lost--when we walked by this beautiful fountain.