Survey Finds Prostituting in Amsterdam Area on Decline

A recent survey reports that “window prostitution” in the Dutch capital’s famed red light district is declining heavily. The new survey reveals that the number of window prostitutes in the Netherlands halved between 1999 and last year.

The Telegraph recently reported that the survey, conducted by the Rode Draad, which looks after the interests of prostitutes, found that many women were working 16-hour days for very low wages.

Legislation passed in 2000 that legalized brothels with the intention of improving conditions for prostitutes had not led to better security or conditions, the report found.

The report went on to say that city authorities are investing large sums in the red light district area, where most of the buildings are 17th century and many even older. The canal side roads are being repaved and the canals themselves repaired.

Still, the Rode Draad report describes the atmosphere in many establishments as “depressing” and notes that younger men show little interest in old style brothels and window prostitution.

It also points to the rise in other businesses where sex is available for money, like massage salons and saunas. “The kind of kinky sex once sought in brothels is now to be had in the bedroom or at sex parties.”