Mary has worked as an escort in Amsterdam for eight years. To her, sex work is a profession like any other, and the Red Light District is the most infamous of offices. Now that office is being uprooted from its historic home to be moved outside of the city center, all under the pretext of shielding the women from the ill-effects of over-tourism. Sex workers would be forced to relocate to a purpose-built center elsewhere in the city.
Sex trafficking and over-tourism were also cited as concerns. Sex work has always been a victim of image and perception. Prostitution in Amsterdam dates back to at least the 15th century, and the modern Red Light District is in the oldest section of the city. Even as a small child, you got used to it. Despite the current relocation attempt, Amsterdam is still far more tolerant and open-minded toward sex workers than much of the world.
Constantly warring against its own stigma, sex work often calls to mind desperation rather than entrepreneurship, and the women tend to be viewed as helpless and fragile. Those in places where sex work is legal or tolerated were half as likely to have sexually transmitted diseases. Not only can sex workers feel confident that law enforcement will actually protect them in Amsterdam, neighborhoods like the Red Light District also afford sex workers a sense of safety through community.
Yet another pillar of the safety conversation is, of course, safe sex. There tends to be a misconception is that sex in the Red Light District is unprotected and that the sex workers must be riddled with STDs. Sex workers even have their own dedicated health care locations to prevent the spread of STDs, Mary explains, and the checkups are free of charge and anonymous. Treatment is also free. The result? Visiting a sex worker is safer than going home with someone from the nightclub because, as Mary notes, STDs among female sex workers are lower than the national average.
Movies, media, and public perception often suggest that prostitution exists to satisfy the salacious desires of a sleazy clientele, and they make it easier for men to cheat on their wives.
