Inside shock plans for 5-storey Dutch MEGA brothel in Amsterdam with 100 sex workers and spiral walkway to gape through windows
A MEGA brothel has been vilified by Dutch prostitutes for being an 'erotic prison'.
Erotic Center will contain one hundred prostitution rooms spread over five floors, two bars and erotic entertainment venues, including a strip club.
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Plans for a sex work-only building are supposed to provide safe working conditions, but have been widely criticized, claiming it does the exact opposite.
In December 2023 Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema proposed that the building be built in Zuid – an affluent neighborhood in the south of the city – but several sex workers have expressed concerns about the area.
For one person's erotic pleasure, some children will not be able to continue their education
Huub Nelis, chairman of the trade school MBO College Zuid
Some sex workers have criticized being driven out of the historic center of prostitution, De Wallen, saying other areas are prone to stigmatization and could put them at risk when traveling to and from work.
During a public discussion about the planning, former sex worker Mariska Majoor said: “A prostitution window on the street is very different from a prostitution window on the street. erotic Centre.
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“The location is dark at night. There will be more stigma and more danger.
“I'm afraid people will be waiting for them with nefarious plans.”
While another sex worker added: “Sex workers have moved from doorways to windows… and now to a segregated centre, on the edge of the city, out of sight and out of mind.
“Keep your laws off our bodies and no erotic prisons.”
More than 40 people spoke out against the plans during the public discussion, with some going so far as to compare the brothel to a 16th-century 'spider house' that marked 'fallen women'.
The European Medicines Agencywho moved to the South district in 2019, say they are “very concerned” about the plans.
A spokesperson for the agency said:
“The EMA is very concerned that this will lead to safety, security and nuisance problems.
“The change in the location of the Red Light District is prompted by concerns about nuisance, drug dealing, drunkenness and disorderly behaviour.
“Placing the Erotic Center in close proximity to the EMA building is likely to have the same negative impact on the adjacent area.
“(We will take this to the) highest appropriate political and diplomatic level to ensure a safe working environment.
“The work of the EMA is essential for protecting public health in the EU, and this should not be jeopardized by the fear of staff and EU experts coming to the EMA building.”
There will be more stigma and more danger
Mariska Majoor, former sex worker
Huub Nelis, chairman of the vocational school MBO College Zuid, also expressed his concerns about crime in the region and said that drug dealers could lure vulnerable students into crime.
“Our students not only walk around until 5 p.m., but also in the evening,” says Nelis.
“There will be parents who will say: my child is not going there, and that is the only education [for trade] in Amsterdam.
“For the erotic pleasure of that one, some children will not be able to continue their education.”
So far, only seven people have spoken out in favor of the plans, including a male sex worker named Richard Jones.
Jones thinks the mega brothel can create more space for sex workers from minority groups.
He said these sex workers currently work in homes, both their own and clients', and this poses a major safety risk.
Jones further argued that these minorities would be much safer if they had access to a large space tailor-made for sex work.
He also added: “People who say they don't want it in their neighborhood don't realize it's already happening… to their spouses, to their friends, to themselves.
“Right now, your homes are our workplaces.”
In two weeks, Dutch council members will vote whether to continue with the mega brothel in the South.
It comes as part of Dutch attempts to cleanse the reputation of their capital.
In recent years, authorities in Amsterdam have considered a number of measures, such as ban tours of the red light district And British men aged 18 to 25.
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