The end of Amsterdam’s red light district? Holland is to consider BANNING paying for sex

A coalition party in Holland is calling for paid sex to be banned in a move which could leave the future of Amsterdam’s famous red light district uncertain.

The Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) have revived the debate to make paying for sex a punishable offence after presenting a proposal to cabinet.

The proposal, submitted by CDA MP Anne Kuik, is being debated today in Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, Dutch News reported.

Kuik told AD newspaper: ‘Most prostitutes would not actually want to have sex with the man in front of them. But it still happens, because it is paid. 

‘So consent is bought, the woman is a product. That is no longer possible in these modern times.’

MPs will also discuss an initiative from Christian youth movement Exxpose to curb prostitution, which has more than 50,000 signatures.

Kuik said she hopes to tackle female inequality by banning legal prostitution as she cares about the ‘protection of mostly women who are treated unequally’.

She said: ‘Ask anyone if they would want their daughter to be a sex worker and they’ll say no. But we’re allowing young women from Europe’s poorer countries do the job without compunction. That is hypocritical.’

She claimed that 95 per cent of women who work in Amsterdam’s red light district are from poorer Eastern European countries, according to the NL Times.

Kuik wants to see the Netherlands implement a legal model similar to Sweden, which criminalised paid sex back in 1999.

Under the Swedish Government’s laws, the buyer is prosecuted but prostitutes are not. 

Kuik argues that while it is impossible to eradicate prostitution, the Government should try to prevent it from happening.

She also claimed that the legalisation of prostitution has not stopped abuse on sex workers, which ‘continues to exist’. 

She added: ‘And make no mistake, a lot is already happening in the Netherlands in illegality.’

The CDA’s coalition partners D66 and People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) are reportedly opposed to the ban, saying it will only drive prostitution underground.

It has been claimed that the chance of criminalising paid sex in the Netherlands is extremely low due to this opposition.

But the motion is expected to be supported by other government parties, including the SGP and ChristenUnie. 

The two parties have rallied for the ban of paid sex for years and are supporting the revival of the debate.