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Red light clients need to check licence
Clients of prostitutes in Amsterdam and elsewhere in the Netherlands may soon need to check for their chosen prostitute's sex licence. The Dutch cabinet has said it wants to crack down harder on the country's sex industry, in particular unlicensed sex operators, as part of its efforts to combat human trafficking.
"That is why the cabinet wants to make it an offence to use the services of a sex operator without a licence or a non-registered independent prostitute," the government said in a statement.
Prostitutes have plied their trade in the Red Light District's narrow alleys in the old centre of Amsterdam for centuries. They used to attract sailors and merchants in the city's heyday as the heart of a global trading empire, but are now a huge tourist draw and possibly a key factor in Amsterdam's appeal, alongside the city's art, architecture and liberal drugs policy. The Dutch cabinet officially legalised prostitution in 2000.
This article was written for TravelSavvy Europe by Bob Cartwright. If you know of an interesting European travel related news story, please get in contact.
