The ban on brothels in the Netherlands lasted almost a century - until Tuesday. That's when Parliament's upper house approved legislation to bring the Dutch sex industry out of the underground.
criminal elements. Prostitution is legal in the Netherlands, but brothels were banned by Calvinist campaigners in 1911 who sought to punish those who exploited women, Reuters says.
The new law means about two thousand brothels will have to register with local governments, meet safety standards, and confirm they hire no illegal workers, with brothel owners now facing background checks. Reuters says about 60 percent of the country's 25,000 prostitutes are illegal immigrants.
The law ends a decade-long political wrangle over the issue. Only the opposition Christian Democrats and other small religious parties opposed the new law, Reuters says.
