De Wallen
Encyclopedia
De Wallen is the largest and best-known red-light district
in Amsterdam
and a major tourist attraction
. It is located in the heart of the oldest part of Amsterdam, covering several blocks south of the church Oude Kerk
and crossed by several canals
.
De Wallen is a network of alleys containing approximately three hundred tiny one-room cabins rented by prostitutes who offer their sexual services from behind a window or glass door, typically illuminated with red lights. The area also has a number of sex shop
s, sex theatres, peep show
s, a sex museum
, a cannabis
museum, and a number of coffee shops that sell marijuana.
De Wallen, together with the prostitution areas Singelgebied
and Ruysdaelkade
, form the Rosse Buurt (red light areas) of Amsterdam.
in the east, the Sint Jansstraat in the south and the Warmoesstraat
in the west. Prostitution takes place within this area in the following streets: Barndesteeg, Bethlehemsteeg, Bloedstraat, Boomsteeg (now closed), Dollebegijnensteeg, Enge Kerksteeg, Goldbergersteeg, Gordijnensteeg, Molensteeg, Monnikenstraat, Oudekerksplein
, Oudekennissteeg, Oudezijds Achterburgwal, Oudezijds Voorburgwal, Sint Annendwarsstraat, Sint Annenstraat, Stoofsteeg and Trompettersteeg.
Prostitution
is legal in the Netherlands
, with the exception of street prostitution; but work permit
s are not issued for prostitution, therefore legally working in the trade is limited mostly to EU citizens. (A non-EU citizen can work legally in Netherlands without a work permit in certain circumstances, for instance, if they are the spouse of a local citizen).
While health and social services are readily available, sex workers are not required to undergo regular health checks. Brothel owners and room operators often require health certificates before employing or leasing rooms
To counter negative publicity Mariska Majoor, founder of the Prostitution Information Center
organized 2 "open days" in February 2006 and March 2007, allowing visitors access to some window brothels and peep shows and informing them about the working conditions there. Majoor was also instrumental in having the world's first monument to Sex workers installed in the red light district. The bronze statue was unveiled on the Oudekerksplein in front of the Oude Kerk at the open day in March 2007 and shows a woman standing in a doorway.
Netherlands is listed by the UNODC as a primary country of destination for victims of human trafficking
, and city authorities are very worried about Amsterdam
's current situation: "We've realized this is no longer about small-scale entrepreneurs but that big crime organizations are involved here in trafficking women, drugs, killings and other criminal activities," said Job Cohen
, the former mayor of Amsterdam.
The vast majority of the prostitutes from De Wallen are foreigners, as are their pimps and human traffickers. More than 75% of Amsterdam's prostitutes are from Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia, according to a former prostitute who produced a report about the sex trade.
Two anonymous vice officers of the Beurstraat police station who have worked in this area revealed in October 2005 that there are two main groups of human traffickers on de Wallen, the "loverboys" and a group known as "the Turks". The group of loverboys consist mostly of young Moroccan
males who use romantic techniques to persuade young women to work for them as prostitutes. The Turkish
group concentrates mainly on the trafficking in Eastern Europe
an prostitutes. An investigation into this group in early 2003 failed miserably: only a few arrests were made and the defendants were quickly released due to lack of evidence.
In 2004, the Amsterdam authorities ordered research into the nature and scale of pimping and human trafficking in Amsterdam. The Willem Plompe institution took up that job. The researchers, under the leadership of professor Frank Bovenkerk, found that women under the control of a pimp can be easily put to work in the legal brothels with the brothel owners being aware that the women are controlled by pimps. The general setup of window prostitution was said to be helpful to pimps, as it facilitates the direct control of the women by their pimp. The researchers spoke to the prostitutes and the women indicated it is nearly impossible for a prostitute to work independently and offer resistance to violent customers. Nearly all prostitutes work for a boyfriend, pimp or human trafficker. The researchers assume that, for Latin American and African prostitutes, men in their home countries play a big role in the background.
The researchers referred to a portfolio compiled by officers from the Beursstraat police station. It contains a list of 76 pimps with a violent criminal history who operated on de Wallen during the previous half year. Of those 76 pimps, five were foreigners and the rest were Dutch, of whom only three were Dutch natives. The researchers asked more than 20 random Dutch prostitutes how they entered prostitution. Many were introduced into prostitution by their (former) boyfriends through a love affair. Often these boyfriends were pimps. Most of these women now either work for a boyfriend they have chosen themselves or have switched from one pimp to another. Sometimes they say they have been sold for tens of thousands of euros.
According to a Christian
organization of aid workers named the 'Scharlaken Koord’ (in English, Scarlet Cord), out of the 439 Dutch window-prostitutes on de Wallen they had contact with in 2001-2002, 380 indicated they were introduced into prostitution by a loverboy. According to these aid workers many prostitutes find it difficult to escape prostitution because they are socially isolated and have huge debts, often built up by their former boyfriends in their name. The Scharlaken Koord has set up a special 'pal'-program for prostitutes in which the pals help the women to build up a new social network.
, concerned about trafficking and pimping in the area, forced the owner Charlie Geerts to close 51 prostitution windows, reducing the total number of windows in De Wallen by a third. Amsterdam authorities bought 18 properties from Geerts, with the aim of developing the area with fashion designers and other upscale businesses.
Mariska Majoor of the Prostitution Information Center
and representatives of the sex worker rights
group De Rode Draad have decried the decision, claiming it would not reduce crime but would only lead to higher rent and more competition for the remaining windows.
In January 2008, the city council announced plans to close the Rosso live sex theatre and the Banana bar strip club in the area. Local business owners have formed the group "Platform 1012" (named after the zipcode of the area) to oppose the efforts of the Amsterdam government. In the end, the actions of the city government resulted in the closure of the Yab Yum
brothel.
At the end of 2008, mayor Job Cohen announced plans to close half of the city’s 400 prostitution windows because of suspected criminal gang activity; part of the city's 70 marijuana cafes and sex clubs will also be closed. Mayor Job Cohen: "It is not that we want to get rid of our red-light district. We want to reduce it. Things have become unbalanced and if we do not act we will never regain control".
In 2009, the Dutch justice ministry announced plans to close 320 prostitution "windows" from Amsterdam.
A former Amsterdam prostitute who is now a city councillor said: "There are people who are really proud of the red light district as a tourist attraction. It's supposed to be such a wonderful, cheery place that shows just what a free city we are. But I think it's a cesspit. There's a lot of serious criminality. There's a lot of exploitation of women, and a lot of social distress. That's nothing to be proud of."
Red-light district
A red-light district is a part of an urban area where there is a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, adult theaters, etc...
in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and a major tourist attraction
Tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities....
. It is located in the heart of the oldest part of Amsterdam, covering several blocks south of the church Oude Kerk
Oude Kerk (Amsterdam)
The Oude Kerk is Amsterdam’s oldest parish church, consecrated in 1306 by the bishop of Utrecht with Saint Nicolas as its patron saint. It stands in De Wallen, now Amsterdam's main red-light district. The square surrounding the church is the Oudekerksplein.The bust of famous organist and composer...
and crossed by several canals
Canals of Amsterdam
Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, has been called the "Venice of the North" for its more than one hundred kilometres of canals, about 90 islands and 1,500 bridges. The three main canals, Herengracht, Prinsengracht, and Keizersgracht, dug in the 17th century during the Dutch Golden Age, form...
.
De Wallen is a network of alleys containing approximately three hundred tiny one-room cabins rented by prostitutes who offer their sexual services from behind a window or glass door, typically illuminated with red lights. The area also has a number of sex shop
Sex shop
A sex shop, erotic shop is a shop that sells products related to adult sexual or erotic entertainment, such as sex toys, lingerie, clothing, pornography, and other related products...
s, sex theatres, peep show
Peep show
A peep show or peepshow is an exhibition of pictures, objects or people viewed through a small hole or magnifying glass. Though historically a peep show was a form of entertainment provided by wandering showmen, nowadays it more commonly refers a presentation of a sex show or pornographic film...
s, a sex museum
Sex museum
A sex museum is a museum that displays erotic art, historical sexual aids, and documents on the history of erotica. They were popular in Europe at the end of the 1960s and during the 1970s, the era of the sexual revolution....
, a cannabis
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
museum, and a number of coffee shops that sell marijuana.
De Wallen, together with the prostitution areas Singelgebied
Singel (Amsterdam)
The Singel is a canal in Amsterdam which encircled the city in the Middle Ages. It served as a moat around the city until 1585, when Amsterdam expanded beyond the Singel. The canal runs from the IJ bay, near Central Station, to the Muntplein square, where it meets the Amstel river...
and Ruysdaelkade
De Pijp
De Pijp is a neighborhood of Amsterdam, Netherlands.The Pijp is located directly south of Amsterdam's city centre and it is part of the borough 'Amsterdam-Zuid'. Most street names in the Pijp are named after Dutch painters, like Jan Steen, Frans Hals, Ruysdael and Vincent van Gogh.The most famous...
, form the Rosse Buurt (red light areas) of Amsterdam.
Location
The total area is approximately 6500 square meters, limited by the Niezel in the north, the sea dike/NieuwmarktNieuwmarkt
Nieuwmarkt is a square in the centre of the Dutch capital Amsterdam. The surrounding area is known as the Nieuwmarktbuurt ....
in the east, the Sint Jansstraat in the south and the Warmoesstraat
Warmoesstraat
Warmoesstraat is one of the oldest streets in Amsterdam, running parallel to the river Amstel from Amsterdam Centraal railway station to Dam Square. Its origins are in the 13th century. In the 16th and 17th century it was the shopping street...
in the west. Prostitution takes place within this area in the following streets: Barndesteeg, Bethlehemsteeg, Bloedstraat, Boomsteeg (now closed), Dollebegijnensteeg, Enge Kerksteeg, Goldbergersteeg, Gordijnensteeg, Molensteeg, Monnikenstraat, Oudekerksplein
Oudekerksplein
The Oudekerksplein is a square in the centre of Amsterdam. It is named after the 14th-century church Oude Kerk which dominates the square. The Oudekerksplein is wedged between the Warmoesstraat street and Oudezijds Voorburgwal canal...
, Oudekennissteeg, Oudezijds Achterburgwal, Oudezijds Voorburgwal, Sint Annendwarsstraat, Sint Annenstraat, Stoofsteeg and Trompettersteeg.
Organization
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
is legal in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, with the exception of street prostitution; but work permit
Work permit
Work permit is a generic term for a legal authorization which allows a person to take employment.It is most often used in reference to instances where a person is given permission to work in a country where one does not hold citizenship, but is also used in reference to minors, who in some...
s are not issued for prostitution, therefore legally working in the trade is limited mostly to EU citizens. (A non-EU citizen can work legally in Netherlands without a work permit in certain circumstances, for instance, if they are the spouse of a local citizen).
While health and social services are readily available, sex workers are not required to undergo regular health checks. Brothel owners and room operators often require health certificates before employing or leasing rooms
To counter negative publicity Mariska Majoor, founder of the Prostitution Information Center
Prostitution Information Center
The Prostitution Information Center is located in the heart of Amsterdam in the red light district, near Amsterdam’s Old Church...
organized 2 "open days" in February 2006 and March 2007, allowing visitors access to some window brothels and peep shows and informing them about the working conditions there. Majoor was also instrumental in having the world's first monument to Sex workers installed in the red light district. The bronze statue was unveiled on the Oudekerksplein in front of the Oude Kerk at the open day in March 2007 and shows a woman standing in a doorway.
Pimping and human trafficking
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
, and city authorities are very worried about Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
's current situation: "We've realized this is no longer about small-scale entrepreneurs but that big crime organizations are involved here in trafficking women, drugs, killings and other criminal activities," said Job Cohen
Job Cohen
Marius Job Cohen is a Dutch social democratic politician and former legal scholar of Jewish background. Since 2010 he has been the leader of the Labour Party and since June 17, 2010 he has been a member of the House of Representatives, where he also is the Parliamentary group leader of the Labour...
, the former mayor of Amsterdam.
The vast majority of the prostitutes from De Wallen are foreigners, as are their pimps and human traffickers. More than 75% of Amsterdam's prostitutes are from Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia, according to a former prostitute who produced a report about the sex trade.
Two anonymous vice officers of the Beurstraat police station who have worked in this area revealed in October 2005 that there are two main groups of human traffickers on de Wallen, the "loverboys" and a group known as "the Turks". The group of loverboys consist mostly of young Moroccan
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
males who use romantic techniques to persuade young women to work for them as prostitutes. The Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
group concentrates mainly on the trafficking in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an prostitutes. An investigation into this group in early 2003 failed miserably: only a few arrests were made and the defendants were quickly released due to lack of evidence.
In 2004, the Amsterdam authorities ordered research into the nature and scale of pimping and human trafficking in Amsterdam. The Willem Plompe institution took up that job. The researchers, under the leadership of professor Frank Bovenkerk, found that women under the control of a pimp can be easily put to work in the legal brothels with the brothel owners being aware that the women are controlled by pimps. The general setup of window prostitution was said to be helpful to pimps, as it facilitates the direct control of the women by their pimp. The researchers spoke to the prostitutes and the women indicated it is nearly impossible for a prostitute to work independently and offer resistance to violent customers. Nearly all prostitutes work for a boyfriend, pimp or human trafficker. The researchers assume that, for Latin American and African prostitutes, men in their home countries play a big role in the background.
The researchers referred to a portfolio compiled by officers from the Beursstraat police station. It contains a list of 76 pimps with a violent criminal history who operated on de Wallen during the previous half year. Of those 76 pimps, five were foreigners and the rest were Dutch, of whom only three were Dutch natives. The researchers asked more than 20 random Dutch prostitutes how they entered prostitution. Many were introduced into prostitution by their (former) boyfriends through a love affair. Often these boyfriends were pimps. Most of these women now either work for a boyfriend they have chosen themselves or have switched from one pimp to another. Sometimes they say they have been sold for tens of thousands of euros.
According to a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
organization of aid workers named the 'Scharlaken Koord’ (in English, Scarlet Cord), out of the 439 Dutch window-prostitutes on de Wallen they had contact with in 2001-2002, 380 indicated they were introduced into prostitution by a loverboy. According to these aid workers many prostitutes find it difficult to escape prostitution because they are socially isolated and have huge debts, often built up by their former boyfriends in their name. The Scharlaken Koord has set up a special 'pal'-program for prostitutes in which the pals help the women to build up a new social network.
City government actions of 2007/2008
In September 2007, the city council of Amsterdam at the behest of mayor Job CohenJob Cohen
Marius Job Cohen is a Dutch social democratic politician and former legal scholar of Jewish background. Since 2010 he has been the leader of the Labour Party and since June 17, 2010 he has been a member of the House of Representatives, where he also is the Parliamentary group leader of the Labour...
, concerned about trafficking and pimping in the area, forced the owner Charlie Geerts to close 51 prostitution windows, reducing the total number of windows in De Wallen by a third. Amsterdam authorities bought 18 properties from Geerts, with the aim of developing the area with fashion designers and other upscale businesses.
Mariska Majoor of the Prostitution Information Center
Prostitution Information Center
The Prostitution Information Center is located in the heart of Amsterdam in the red light district, near Amsterdam’s Old Church...
and representatives of the sex worker rights
Sex worker rights
The term sex worker rights encompasses a variety of aims being pursued globally by individuals and organizations that specifically involve the human and labor rights of sex workers....
group De Rode Draad have decried the decision, claiming it would not reduce crime but would only lead to higher rent and more competition for the remaining windows.
In January 2008, the city council announced plans to close the Rosso live sex theatre and the Banana bar strip club in the area. Local business owners have formed the group "Platform 1012" (named after the zipcode of the area) to oppose the efforts of the Amsterdam government. In the end, the actions of the city government resulted in the closure of the Yab Yum
Yab Yum (brothel)
Yab Yum was one of the best-known and most exclusive brothels in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Located in a 17th century canal house on the Singel, it mostly catered to businessmen and foreign visitors...
brothel.
At the end of 2008, mayor Job Cohen announced plans to close half of the city’s 400 prostitution windows because of suspected criminal gang activity; part of the city's 70 marijuana cafes and sex clubs will also be closed. Mayor Job Cohen: "It is not that we want to get rid of our red-light district. We want to reduce it. Things have become unbalanced and if we do not act we will never regain control".
In 2009, the Dutch justice ministry announced plans to close 320 prostitution "windows" from Amsterdam.
A former Amsterdam prostitute who is now a city councillor said: "There are people who are really proud of the red light district as a tourist attraction. It's supposed to be such a wonderful, cheery place that shows just what a free city we are. But I think it's a cesspit. There's a lot of serious criminality. There's a lot of exploitation of women, and a lot of social distress. That's nothing to be proud of."
External links
- Prostitution Information Centre
- Scharlaken Koord, a Christian aid organisation situated in de Wallen, helping prostitutes to leave prostitution.