(Newswire.net — March 26, 2019) — Amsterdam’s deputy mayor has announced that it will be banning guided tours to its red-light district.
Udo Kock, deputy prime minister has written in a statement that ‘We are banning tours that take visitors along sex workers’ windows, not only because we want to prevent overcrowding in the red-light district, but also because it is not respectful to sex workers.’
The ban will be put in place on January the First, as the mayor, in a very progressive statement, mentioned that it is ‘outdated’ to treat sex workers as a spectacle and tourist attraction.
The Red-Light district is a massive tourist attraction in the Dutch capital Amsterdam. Widely known for its progressive and forward-thinking government, Holland is one of the first country to have legalised both marijuana and prostitution.
The ban is coming into place as more than 1000 guided tours pass through the district every single week, meaning that the prostitutes may lose out on business and potential customers, Moreover, the Dutch government has had issues with unruly tourists leering at them.
Finally, before this ban is due to take place, the city will start to curb tours in the red-light district. Commencing on April 1st, tours to the area will not be allowed to take place after 7pm, changing from the current time of 11pm.
The history of the red-light district
The are of De Wallen was originally populated with sex workers due to the consistent stream of sailors and traders that used to pass through the area. In 1988, the Dutch government began to recognise prostitution as a legal profession. Now, there are up to 300 sex windows in the area.
Although Sweden was the first to legalize prostitution in the world, the Netherlands is a prominent leader in the decimalization of sex workers.