Running head: THE IMPACT OF LEGALIZING PROSTITUTION 1

The Impact of Legalizing Prostitution in the Netherlands

Yuliya Moroz
RN-BSN Western Washington University
NURS 452
Hilary Schwandt, Ph.D. MHS
August 1, 2017
THE IMPACT OF LEGALIZING PROSTITUTION 2

The Impact of Legalizing Prostitution in the Netherlands

Prostitution has always been an issue of concern in the Netherlands since the early 1900s

(Spapens & Rijken, 2014). With the Red Light District of Amsterdam being predominantly

known as the hub for sex-oriented businesses (Spapens & Rijken, 2014). As the crime rates

began to soar, along with a rapid increase of prostitution, Dutch authorities attempted to decrease

crime by creating a crime unit called the Van Traa team to combat illegal activity, but that

proved to be exhaustive and ineffective (Spanens & Rijken, 2014). On October 1, 2000, the

Dutch authorities legalized voluntary prostitution and brothels in hopes to better regulate

prostitution (Huisman & Kleemans, 2014). The intention of legalization was a desperate attempt

for safer working conditions, health screenings, and decreased crime. Although the intentions

were good, the legalization of prostitution in the Netherlands did not eliminate criminal activity,

such as sex trafficking.

Red Light District

The name for the Red Light District in Amsterdam came from the red lights illuminating

the women standing behind sex shop windows as they earnestly sought out customers to pay for

their services (Appendix A). This area is also a place of tourism with cafes, souvenir shops, and

the beautiful historic Gothic Oude Kerk (Appendix B), or Old Church (Goldberg, 2014). It may

seem strange that an area so beautiful would have scantily clad women in shop windows available

for purchase as a souvenir or a cup of coffee. This district has always been a hub for sailors and

city people to gamble, drink, and visit prostitutes (Appendix C). The very first time window

prostitutes appeared was in 1930s, a small-scale business run in a single hotel or home (Spanens

& Rijken, 2014). In the 1970s, the nature of the Red Light District changed as alleys, squares, and

streets were overrun with the red light windows. The business started to grow and pimps seeking
 THE IMPACT OF LEGALIZING PROSTITUTION 3

financial incentives from other countries started to show up. By the 1990s the Red Light District

became filled with all sorts of criminal activity.

Pitfalls in Decriminalization of Prostitution

Prostitution was legalized in the Netherlands to help increase transparency, and regulate

brothels. In order for an employer to maintain a brothel, they must apply for a license with the

Dutch Chamber of Commerce. Although this was an indicated regulation it was found that many

did not comply with the license requirements (Spapens & Rijken, 2014). This is because it would

mean they would be required to pay fees and taxes and allow the municipality to inspect the

brothel and the wellbeing of their sex workers (Spapens & Rijken, 2014). If the brothels that are

licensed do not meet the requirements of the municipality they are liable for fines, license

revocation, and even closure (Seals, 2013). Although operating from a brothel without licensing is

illegal in the Red Light District of Amsterdam, the same regulation does not apply to other cities

in the Netherlands, causing a pitfall in the regulation of sex workers outside of the Red Light

District (Spapens & Rijken, 2014).

The goal of the decriminalization of prostitution was to enforce safe-sex policies in

brothels, but it was found that many establishments are not requiring the sex workers to do so

regularly (Seal, 2013). Safe-sex policies include providing sex workers with health information,

access to health care, and four HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) health checks a year

(Seal, 2013). It was found that brothel owners encourage the workers to get HIV/STI screens

but are not requiring them to do so, in turn, many prostitutes do not seek medical care (Seal,

2013). Women who are self-employed are at an increased risk for exploitation, trafficking, and

are less likely to seek medical care (Seal, 2013). Research has shown that in the Red Light

District hardly any women work without a pimp (Spapens & Rijken, 2014). These women are
THE IMPACT OF LEGALIZING PROSTITUTION 4

harassed, and forced to hire these pimps for protection and fifty percent of the income they

make (Spapens & Rijken, 2014). Other flaws in the system are that although STI and HIV checks

are mandated for females they are not required for the male buyers, putting the women prostitutes

at risk (Raymond, 2003). Although the law indicates that buyers are required to wear condoms,

many studies have shown that men will insist on sex without a condom and will pay more if they

do so (Raymond, 2003). The women are too pressured by competition, financial strain, and

pressure from the pimp to deny having unprotected sex (Raymond, 2003). This, in turn, increases

the risk of STIs and HIV/AIDS transmission.

Legalization Increases Demand

After the legalization of prostitution, the number of red tinted windows in the Red Light

District of Amsterdam increased from 200 to about 400 (Spapens & Rijeken, 2014). The

municipality of Amsterdam saw this as a concern and shut many windows down only to have the

business expand out to brothels, escort services, massage parlors, and hotels. From the time

prostitution was legalized in 2000 to 2001 the number of prostitutes increased drastically by 25%

(Raymond, 2003). With the decriminalization of prostitution, the demand had increased.

Customers who would not have purchased sex before because it was illegal were attracted to do

so once it was legalized (Spapens & Rijken, 2014). If the demand is there the market will grow.

With the increased demand, many prostitutes immigrated to the Netherlands out of financial

desperation or coercion. In Amsterdam, the number of prostitutes originating from Central and

Eastern Europe has increased up to 75% as a result of the demand (Sapens & Rijken, 2014).

Many women from Eastern Europe involved in prostitution did not make the rational

choice to enter prostitution (Raymond, 2003). They chose prostitution as a survival strategy

due to their lack of opportunity to enter the workforce as professionals in medicine, law, or
THE IMPACT OF LEGALIZING PROSTITUTION 5

education (Raymond, 2003). One prostitute in the Red Light District recounts her story of how

she entered prostitution. She originally was from Romania and had very few prospects for a job.

The most she would earn was 200 Euros a month. Finally, out of desperation, she got connected

with sex workers in Amsterdam who got her a plane ticket and housing so she could work as a

prostitute in the Red Light District (Goldberg, 2014). What she had to do was to pay them back

for the ticket and housing, and extra for their effort (Goldberg, 2014). This prostitute from

Romania is just one example of many women who are coerced to enter prostitution due to the

increased demand for sex-workers and their limited options for financial security.

Increased Demand Leads to Sex Trafficking

Making prostitution legal does not rule out sex trafficking (Cho, Dreher, Neumayer,

2012). A study on 150 countries, including the Netherlands, concluded that the legalization of

prostitution increased the in-flow of human trafficking (Cho et al., 2012). Human trafficking is

involuntary prostitution of adults or the prostitution of minors (below 18 years) (Spapens &

Rijken, 2014, p. 160). Many of the women who are trafficked cannot go to officials for help

because of their illegal status, fear of deportation, and their lack of financial support (Spapens &

Rijken, 2014). Research shows that exploitation occurs through manipulation of social

relationships, close monitoring, intimidation, and violence (Huisman & Kleemans, 2014). This

exploitation is also integrated by complex economic dependency and personal relationships with

the pimps (Huisman & Kleemans, 2014).

One example of sex trafficking and exploitation in the Netherlands after the legalization

of prostitution was the Sneep Case (Spapens & Rijken, 2014). In this case, a group of

extremely violent pimps forced hundreds of women from outside of the Netherlands to work as

prostitutes (Spapens & Rijken, 2014). These pimps came from Germany with the intention for
THE IMPACT OF LEGALIZING PROSTITUTION 6

financial gain from the sex business. They took over a part of the Red Light District through

violent manipulation and coercion (Huisman & Kleemans, 2014). In the end, many women

worked as prostitutes for this group of pimps and were required to hand over large amounts of

money to them. This case showed that human trafficking can occur even in a setting where

prostitution is legalized. It showed that intimate relations, sometimes family connections, and

brutal violence can be used to manipulate women into prostitution. The Sneep Case was just

one example of how human trafficking can occur in countries where prostitution is legalized

because of the financial interest of pimps (Huismann & Kleemans, 2014).

The police in Amsterdam investigate about 40 cases of human trafficking a year and

estimate that up to 40% of all sex workers are trafficked (Spapens & Rijken, 2014). Most of the

victims of human trafficking originate from the Netherlands, Hungary, Romania, and Nigeria.

Girls in the Netherlands get trafficked into prostitution through pimps who form relationships

with insecure girls while they are in high school. They groom them and form intimate

relationships with them. In turn, they use them for profit and traffic them as prostitutes. Victims

of non-European Union countries who are trafficked illegally are demanded as the market for sex

goes up, from countries such as: Nigeria, China, and Thailand. They are deemed as exotic and

desirable. The women reside in the Netherlands illegally and are not able to be registered for the

fear of deportation, manipulation by the pimp, and violent abuse. They often work in massage

parlors and not in the windows of the Red Light District where licensing and safety are

regulated. They are also often at risk for exploitation and are unable to report to the police

violent behavior toward them due to their illegal resident status. Although these women usually

agree to work as prostitutes beforehand they are not made aware of their working conditions, and

that they will only keep a small amount of the money (Spapens & Rijken, 2014).
THE IMPACT OF LEGALIZING PROSTITUTION 7

Sweden Sex Purchase Act

Sweden, on the other hand, has instead banned all the buying of sex but did not ban the

selling of it via- The Sex Purchase Act in 1999. The legislative stated that in a gender equal

society men should not be allowed to casually purchase sex from a female (Goldberg, 2014).

Legislative officials stated that prostitution was violence against women and created inequality

between males and females (Waltman, 2011). The Sex Purchase Act stated that the purchase of

sex for compensation was prohibited. Compensation does not need to be monetary but can

include drugs, meals, and gifts. If a person is found to have purchased casual sex they can be

sentenced to a fine or up to one year in prison (Waltman, 2011). After this act was implemented

studies have shown that the percentage of men who buy sex went down from 13.6 percent in

1996 to 8 percent in 2008 (Goldberg, 2014). A number of prostitutes estimated in Sweden also

went down from 2,500 in 1999 to 1,500 in 2002 (Cho et al, 2012). The market for trafficking

also decreased and telephone interceptions by enforcement found that traffickers and pimps were

dissatisfied with Swedens prostitution market (Waltman, 2011). When contemplating the root-

cause of what increases the sex market Sweden officials agreed that prostitution by nature is

always exploitive and that the purchase of services should be punishable by law (Waltman,

2011).

Legalization is Not the Answer for Sex Trafficking

The Red Light District in Amsterdam has long been a place for prostitution and criminal

activity. With criminal activity increasing towards 1980 the legislation of the Netherlands agreed

that the best way to combat this was to legalize prostitution to decrease stigma for prostitutes,

better their working conditions, and increase transparency. In turn, the goal was to decrease

trafficking and crime. Although prostitution was legalized the inflow of sex trafficking has not.
THE IMPACT OF LEGALIZING PROSTITUTION 8

In fact, it has proliferated. One point found by researchers was that legalizing an illegal product

or service may expand the market and attract more customers who would not dare purchase it

when it was illegal (Spapens & Rijken, 2014). With the legalization of prostitution, the demand

increases requiring an inflow of prostitutes from outside the Netherlands who do not have as

many financial opportunities. Quantitative research shows that the inflow of sex trafficked

females increased in the countries where prostitution was legalized. In conclusion, options

should be considered rather than the legalization of prostitution, such as the Sex Purchase Act in

Sweden. This would decrease the market for prostitution and give women the absolute freedom

of choice over their bodies.

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References

Goldberg, M. (2014, July 30). Should buying sex be illegal? The Nation. Retrieved from

https://www.thenation.com/article/should-buying-sex-be-illegal/

Huisman, W., & Kleemans, Edward. (2014, January 11). The challenges of fighting sex trafficking in

the legalized prostitution market of the Netherlands. Retrieved July 25, 2017, from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260493897_The_challenges_of_fighting_sex_trafficki

ng_in_the_legalized_prostitution_market_of_the_Netherlands

Spapens, T., & Rijken, C. (2015). The fight against human trafficking in the Amsterdam Red Light

District. International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice, 39(2), 155168.

https://doi.org/10.1080/01924036.2014.986040

Raymond, J. G. (2004). Ten reasons for not legalizing prostitution and a legal response to the demand

for prostitution. Journal of Trauma Practice, 2(34), 315332.

https://doi.org/10.1300/J189v02n03_17

Waltman, M. (2011). Swedens prohibition of purchase of sex: The laws reasons, impact, and

potential. Womens Studies International Forum, 34(5), 449474.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2011.06.004
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Appendix A

Window Prostitutes in Red Light District, Amsterdam

https://goo.gl/images/v7koHJ
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Appendix B

Gothic Oude Kerk

https://goo.gl/images/mv1pY5
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Appendix C

Red Light District, Amsterdam

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red-

light_district_of_Amsterdam_by_day._2012.JPG