“No earlier closing times” or “Don’t save us, save our windows” read signs at the Amsterdam Information Center for Prostitution (PIC) during a visit at the end of March. Just the day before, hundreds of sex workers roamed the streets. They protested against tougher regulations that are soon to come.
Specifically, the curfew for sex workers is to be brought forward from six to three in the morning from mid-May. That was catastrophic, explains an employee of the information center in an interview with ORF.at. The reason? In those hours the sex workers would do most of the business. And it’s not the only measure taken by the city government that is causing horror in the scene.
Dismay at the planned erotic center
In order to reduce the “pressure on the red light district”, Mayor Femke Halsema of the GroenLinks (German: GrünLinks) party announced more concrete plans to build an erotic center. This is intended to provide space for 100 sex workers who are currently working behind the red-lit windows. “For years, the quality of life of the residents has been under pressure from the flow of tourists, for whom the windows are just an attraction,” says Halsema.
Prostitution
has been legal and heavily taxed in the Netherlands for over two decades. Sex workers must pay income tax and register with the Chamber of Commerce.
It is not yet clear where the erotic center will be located. To the displeasure of the EU medicines authority EMA, two of the three possible locations are in the immediate vicinity of the EU agency. While EMA fears for the safety of its 900 employees and announces protests, sex workers warn of more dangerous working conditions. They also criticize the stigmatization of their work.
They get backing from the newly elected night mayor Freek Wallagh, who acts as an intermediary and contact person for restaurateurs, cultural workers, local residents and politicians. If he has his way, sex work should be seen as a “living, breathing heritage.” Women were already offering their services shortly after the De Wallen district came into existence in the 13th century. The liberal approach to sex and cannabis is also part of what made Amsterdam the liberal oasis it is today, Wallagh told ORF.at.
No smoking on the streets
In fact, the new rules for sex workers are just part of a package of measures that Halsema hopes to use to improve the quality of life in the inner city. It should no longer be allowed to smoke pot through the alleys of downtown Amsterdam. Restaurants should also close earlier on weekends and no longer allow new guests from one o’clock in the morning.
The sale of alcohol in shops, liquor stores and cafes is already prohibited on weekends after 4 p.m. But the city could go even further: the authorities are examining whether the sale of hashish and marijuana in the coffee shops between 4 p.m. and 1 a.m. can be restricted. Another initiative by Halsema, according to which tourists should be banned from the city’s coffee shops, failed in the autumn.
Residents: Living like “at Disneyland”
The new rules aim to relieve residents like Edwin Schölvinck. Schölvinck has lived in the red light district for 30 years. With the exception of the last three years, the tourist crowds have increasingly become a challenge. “Sometimes I feel like I’m living in Disneyland,” he says. Stag parties are common in the area. The result is people drinking, bawling and smoking weed.
Schölvinck is therefore trying to raise awareness among tourists. Specifically, he is involved in the “We Live Here” campaign, which residents launched a few years ago at the suggestion of the city. As part of that campaign, posters from local residents can be seen throughout the neighborhood. The simple message is “We live here”.
In an interview with ORF.at, he welcomes the new regulations “as long as they make life better”. At the same time, Schölvinck questions the usefulness of the cannabis ban on the streets. He says that while cannabis calms people down, drinking alcohol makes them more aggressive and louder.
Schölvinck does not generally dislike tourists either. “The numbers are the problem,” he says. More than 18 million visitors are expected in 2023 alone. In the pre-pandemic year 2019, there were 22 million people. Amsterdam has just 900,000 inhabitants.
How Amsterdam is cracking down on party tourists
In order to master mass tourism with all its downsides, the city relies not only on regulations but also on a colorful bouquet of campaigns. “We Live Here” is one of them, the “How To Amsterdam” campaign – which focuses on etiquette – is another. Those initiatives were recently eclipsed by the “Stay Away” campaign, which aims to deter young drunk and drug tourists from Great Britain with videos and information sites from the city.
Neither Schölvinck nor Wallagh nor coffee shop owner Joachim Helms can do much with the deterrence campaign. “Amsterdam has always been a tolerant and liberal city,” says Helms. It was “contradictory” to first attract tourists to the city for years and now start a campaign to keep people away. Also, only a very small proportion of people traveling to Amsterdam would misbehave, he says.
Night mayor: “We have to be careful”
Campaigns like “Stay Away” are counterproductive, agrees Night Mayor Wallagh. These would emphasize that Amsterdam is a city “for drugs and alcohol”. “We are so much more than that. We are an art city. We are a city of culture, there are so many beautiful things to experience,” said the night mayor.
Although “prudish and reactionary views” were gaining ground in the city, Wallagh said everyone in Amsterdam had an interest in curbing tourism. With a view to the liberal lifestyle of the city and its residents, however, he urges caution: “We have to be careful not to destroy something that we have built up over centuries – and at the same time make sure that Amsterdam doesn’t become a weird mix of Venice and Disneyland will.”
