The Red Light District in Amsterdam

Having finished the canal cruise, our tour director took us to the Red Light District located in the oldest area of the town known as de Wallen, meaning, the Quays. It is “the best-known red-light district in Amsterdam, a major tourist attraction. It is a network of alleys containing several hundreds of tiny one-room apartments rented by male and female prostitutes who offer their services from behind a window or glass door, typically illuminated with red lights. The area also has a number of sex shops, sex theatres, peep shows, and erotic museum, a cannabis museum, and a number of coffee shops offering various cannabis products.” (wikipedia.org)

“Some say the origin of the red light comes from the red lanterns carried by railway workers, which were left outside brothels when the workers entered, so that they could be quickly located for any needed train movement. Others speculate that the origin comes from the red paper lanterns that were hung outside brothels in ancient China to identify them as such. It was said that the lights were thought to be sensual.” (wikipedia.org)

We walked through a very narrow street. People could only go single file both ways. As we walked through this narrow street, we passed by women scantily clad, some with abbreviated bikinis behind glass windows waiting for clients. We saw one completely nude sitting down with her legs crossed. People just passed by them. Nobody harassed them or made derogatory comments. According to our tour director's research, there are no pimps in this red light district. The prostitutes work independently. A prostitute could possibly earn E800 on an eight-hour shift (this was in 2008). Because prostitution is legal here, the government has to regulate it. Men must wear protection. The Health Department regularly inspects the prostitutes. Once the prostitutes get sick, the Health Department immediately remove them from the area and have them treated. They take them to an apartment isolated from the rest. While the prostitutes are out of work, the government supports them, providing meals, basic needs, and health care. The system is a two-way street. The prostitutes pay tax (they even fill out tax returns and pay union dues), and the government supports them when they could no longer work.

On a side note, we saw a church and a kindergarten school nearby.

Strange but true.