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by Fiona Campbell

Was the Netherlands right to legalise brothels?

The city of Amsterdam has decided to close a third of all the prostitutes' windows in the red light district. Is this the beginning or the end for Amsterdam's most famous - and most notorious - tourist attraction?
 
Mayor Job Cohen says the measure is needed to combat crime. It seems the legalisation of brothels seven years ago led to an increase in organised crime, especially human trafficking and money laundering.

But the Dutch sex workers' union De Rode Draad says the mayor has got it wrong: closing windows will mean more exploitation of women rather than less. Either way, this is a dramatic change in Amsterdam's attitude to prostitution. Is Mayor Cohen right? How will the change affect the city?

Our expert panel debated if the new measures would actually reduce crime, or push parts of the business underground? They also discussed if the Netherlands was right to legalise brothels? Or should paying for sex be criminalised as it is in Sweden?
 

Sietske Altink: staff member of the Rode Draad or Red Thread, a sex workers' rights organisation in Amsterdam.

"The position and economic situation was worse before legalisation. Legalisation in itself is still a good thing, but you really must enforce existing laws. In that respect there has been a problem."

Peggy Burke: Amsterdam councillor for the PvdA, the Dutch Labour party and part of present coalition government.

"If we want to be liberal in this city, we should also look at the excesses of our liberalisation. In the red light area there are too many women who are victims of human trafficking, and there are too many women who are victims of pimps. We should really take measures to stop that process going on. I really believe the legalisation of prostitution has not worked."

Melissa Farley: psychologist and researcher on prostitution since 1993. Her latest study is on the effects of prostitution and human trafficking in the state of Nevada in the US.

"I think that legal prostitution, just like any other type prostitution, is intrinsically harmful to women."

Text from Radio Netherlands at: http://www.radionetherlands.nl/features/amsterdamforum/071005af