Amsterdam Tries to Dim the Glare on Its Red-Light District

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The mayor wants to improve the neighborhood for residents, but sex workers oppose measures recently put in place. Now the city is looking to set up legal prostitution elsewhere.

The red-light district is one of Amsterdam’s oldest neighborhoods. | Ilvy Njiokiktjien for The New York Times
It has been a goal sought after by Amsterdam for years: dissuading rowdy, brawling tourists from overtaking the red-light district.

The Dutch city announced new measures this spring to crack down on noise and substance abuse, which residents have long complained about in the district. But sex workers, bartenders and entrepreneurs say the new rules haven’t been effective in making the area safer or quieter.

Now the city is pushing a more drastic move: setting up a location for legal prostitution in another neighborhood to spread out demand — an idea that has set off mixed reactions from the industry.

The new rules introduced this spring set earlier closing times for bars (2 a.m., and no new entry after 1 a.m.), stopped sex workers from working after 3 a.m. instead of 6 a.m. and banned marijuana smoking in the street. But many sex workers say the regulations make them less safe because they have less time to earn enough money to cover the cost of their rooms, pressuring them to accept clients they would otherwise turn down. » | Claire Moses, Reporting from the red-light district in Amsterdam | Tuesday, July 4, 2023

Trois hommes jugés pour le meurtre de Vanesa Campos, prostituée trans

Vanesa Campos, une prostituée trans de 36 ans originaire du Pérou, avait été tuée d'une balle dans le thorax, dans la nuit du 16 au 17 août 2018. LIONEL BONAVENTURE / AFP
LE FIGARO : Trois ans et demi après le meurtre de Vanesa Campos, travailleuse du sexe trans tuée lors d'une «expédition punitive» dans le bois de Boulogne, neuf hommes sont jugés à partir de mardi devant les assises de Paris, dont trois pour ce crime.

Vanesa Campos, une prostituée trans de 36 ans originaire du Pérou, avait été tuée d'une balle dans le thorax, dans la nuit du 16 au 17 août 2018. Elle avait été retrouvée, agonisante et le corps dénudé, par ses «compañeras» près de son lieu de travail, une tenture accrochée à des branches d'arbre pour l'abriter des regards depuis la route du Pré Catelan, une partie reculée du bois de Boulogne dénuée d'éclairage. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | Dimanche 9 janvier 2022

The Nazis And Prostitution: Documentary

Tunisian Scholar Mohamed Talbi: The Quran Does Not Prohibit Alcohol, Prostitution, or Homosexuality

Germany a 'Sex Tourism Hotspot'

The Reeperbahn quarter of Hamburg at night

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Relaxed attitude to prostitution has resulted in Germany attracting sex tourists from France, Italy and beyond to visit its brothels

Germany has become a sex tourism hotspot thanks to the legalisation of prostitution, the country's leading feminist campaigner has warned.

Alice Schwarzer, whose book "Prostitution – a German scandal" was published last week, says sex tourists from France, Italy and Scandinavia travel to Germany to visit its brothels.

They are attracted by a relaxed approach to prostitution and legal brothels such as Cologne's Pascha, the largest brothel in Europe, she explained.

"Germany today is a 'sex paradise' for foreigners – thanks to the 2002 reform which permitted conditions that our neighbouring countries are amazed at: large brothels with low fees and flat rates, and 'wellness' brothels," Ms Schwarzer said.

"Foreigners travel from as far as Scandinavia and France by the busload." » | Louise Barnett, Berlin | Friday, November 15, 2013

Switzerland Opens Drive[-]in 'Sex Boxes' to Make Prostitution Safer

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: They look like shelters for hikers in a national park, but these wooden sheds in Switzerland have a rather less innocent purpose – they provide a discreet location for men to have sex with prostitutes.

The drive-in "sex boxes" as they are being called, will be officially opened on August 26, as part of a drive by authorities in Zurich to regulate prostitution, combat pimping and improve security for sex workers.

The nine garage-style structures, located in a former industrial zone in the west of the city, have been organised with typically Swiss precision.

Drivers will have to follow a clearly marked route along which up to 40 prostitutes will be stationed.

Once they have chosen one of the women and negotiated a fee, they will drive into one of the wooden sheds, which are hung with posters advocating the use of condoms and warning of the risk of Aids.

The sex boxes are equipped with alarms which the prostitutes can activate if they feel in danger from a client. Read on and comment » | Nick Squires | Friday, August 18, 2013

Prostitution Behind the Veil in Iran: Documentary

French Minister for Women Seeks Abolition of Prostitution in Europe
THE GUARDIAN: Najat Vallaud-Belkacem to organise conference of experts on how to contain sex-trade and human-trafficking

France's minister for women is to organise a consultation on ways to abolish prostitution in France and Europe, she has told the Guardian.

Najat Vallaud-Belkacem [F], the high profile women's rights minister and government spokeswoman, said in an interview that she would be organising a conference of experts on how to contain the sex-trade and human-trafficking and was seeking to meet the home secretary Theresa May for input from the UK.

"Since the 19th century and the role of [the Victorian feminist] Josephine Butler, Britain and France have been the core countries in the international mobilisation against prostitution. I really hope that these common roots are still alive," she said. She wanted a meeting with May on how Britain and France approach prostitution and human-trafficking. In France prostitution is not illegal, but activities around it are. Brothels were outlawed in 1946 and pimping is illegal. » | Angelique Chrisafis in Paris | Friday, June 22, 2012

THE INDEPENDENT: Najat Vallaud-Belkacem - the young Muslim woman at the heart of France's modern regime » | John Lichfield | Friday, May 18, 2012

Afghan Girl, 15, Tortured by In-laws for Resisting Prostitution

THE GUARDIAN: Case of Sahar Gul shocks Afghans, but rights activists say serious abuses against females are still common

A 15-year-old Afghan girl who was severely tortured for months by her in-laws to force her into prostitution will be sent to India for medical treatment, an Afghan official has said.

Sahar Gul's mother-in-law and sister-in-law have been arrested and her husband is being sought, said interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi on Monday.

The case has shocked Afghans, though rights activists say serious abuses against women and girls in the conservative society are common. President Hamid Karzai has said that whoever used violence against Gul will be punished.

According to officials in north-eastern Baghlan province, Gul's in-laws kept her in a basement for six months, ripped her fingernails out, tortured her with hot irons and broke her fingers. Police freed her last week after her uncle tipped them off.

The public health and women's affairs ministers visited Gul, who is in a Kabul hospital.

"It is a violent act that is unacceptable in the 21st century," Sediqi told reporters. "We are thankful [to] Sahar Gul's uncle." He added that "if the police had not arrived in time she may have died". » | AP in Kabul | Monday, January 02, 2012

Desperate British Students ‘Turning to Prostitution,’ Sex Workers' Group Says

THE GLOBE AND MAIL: Desperate British students, faced with rising costs on the back of government austerity measures, are turning to prostitution, gambling and other dangerous pursuits to fund their studies, support workers and student leaders said on Wednesday.

The English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP), a welfare body for sex workers, said it estimated the number of people approaching it for help had doubled in the last year as students struggled to make ends meet.

“(The government) know the cuts and the austerity programs and the removing of grants, they know when they remove those resources they know it drives women further into poverty,” Sarah Walker from the ECP told Reuters.

“The way that women survive poverty is often through sex work. The government knows that and they don’t seem to care frankly.”

Young people have been the hardest hit by economic slowdown with youth unemployment now accounting for 1.03 million of the 2.64 unemployed, the highest level since 1992. » | Michael Holden | London | Reuters | Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Scandal-weary France to Vote on Outlawing Prostitution

THE OBSERVER: As the public mood shifts, MPs consider six-month jail term for those caught paying for sex

Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec painted them; Hugo, Balzac and Zola wrote about them; Napoleon licensed them and disgraced former presidential candidate Dominique Strauss-Kahn says he has a "horror" of them. Some even argue that they are part of France's cultural heritage. Prostitutes have been a feature of French artistic, literary and political circles – and a target for politicians – for centuries.

On Tuesday, following the New York sex scandal earlier this year that made headlines around the world and effectively ended Strauss-Kahn's hopes of becoming the next French president, MPs will discuss a bill that would make prostitution a crime punishable by six months in prison. Anyone caught buying sex would face a €3,000 (£2,600) fine.

Since the end of the second world war [sic] prostitution in France has been considered a matter of private choice and is not illegal. However, the government has become increasingly abolitionist and the public mood may be hardening following the Strauss-Kahn debacle. A series of unsavoury revelations regarding a high-end prostitution ring based at a luxury hotel in the northern city of Lille will also be in MPs' minds as they vote on the bill. » | Kim Willsher | Sunday, December 04, 2011

Saudis Fear There Will Be ‘No More Virgins’ and People Will Turn Gay If Female Drive Ban Is Lifted

MAIL ONLINE: Repealing a ban on women drivers in Saudi Arabia would result in ‘no more virgins’, the country’s religious council has warned.

A ‘scientific’ report claims relaxing the ban would also see more Saudis - both men and women - turn to homosexuality and pornography.

The startling conclusions were drawn by Muslim scholars at the Majlis al-Ifta’ al-A’ala, Saudi Arabia’s highest religious council, working in conjunction with Kamal Subhi, a former professor at the King Fahd University.

Their report assessed the possible impact of repealing the ban in Saudi Arabia, the only country in the world where women are not allowed behind the wheel.

It was delivered to all 150 members of the Shura Council, the country’s legislative body.

The report warns that allowing women to drive would ‘provoke a surge in prostitution, pornography, homosexuality and divorce’. Read on and comment » | Mail Foreign Service | Thursday, December 01, 2011

Poor Saudi Arabia! Poor benighted Saudi Arabia! The Saudis are simply incapable of lifting themselves out of the dark ages, aren’t they? I wonder why? – © Mark

The Chancellor and the Dominatrix – UK
Watch Journeyman Pictures video here

Les prostituées protestent à Paris

FRANCE SOIR: Ce jeudi après-midi, les prostituées parisiennes défilent place Pigalle pour protester contre la proposition de loi visant à pénaliser leurs clients.

Alors qu'une quarantaine de prostituées s'est réunie mercredi à Toulouse pour manifester contre la proposition de certains députés de pénaliser les clients, les prostitués indépendantes parisiennes se retrouvent ce jeudi après-midi, place Pigalle, à Paris. 17 associations de préventions et de santé communautaires (Act-up, Aides, Syndicat du travail sexuel-Strass, etc) ont répondu à l'appel du Collectif Droits et Prostitution et protestent contre le rapport parlementaire Bousquet qui souhaite incriminer les personnes ayant recours aux services des prostituées. » | Par Juliette Dominati | Jeudi 02 Juin 2011

Prostitution Probe Could Sink Berlusconi
Italy leader accused of paying for sex

Russian Woman Who Wear Miniskirts 'Should Not Be Surprised If They Get Raped'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A top cleric in the Russian Orthodox Church is under fire for saying that women who wear miniskirts and get drunk should not be surprised if they get raped.

The problem, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin said, was that some Russian women confused the street with a strip club and dressed like prostitutes. Photo: The Daily Telegraph
Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, the head of the Orthodox Church's department for relations between the church and society, complained that Russian women dressed like strippers and suggested a nationwide dress code should be introduced to ensure both sexes dress more conservatively.

"If she (a woman) is wearing a miniskirt, it is provocative," he said. "If she is drunk at the same time then she is even more provocative, and if she herself is actively seeking contact with people and is then surprised when that contact ends in rape she is wrong."

The problem, he laimed, was that some Russian women confused the street with a strip club and dressed like prostitutes.

"A woman who is barely dressed or made up like a clown will certainly not find a man as a partner in life with an ounce of sense or self-respect," he said. >>> Andrew Osborn, Moscow | Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Spain to Ban Sex Adverts from National Newspapers
THE GUARDIAN: President says ban is part of a strategy to fight people trafficking and sexual exploitation rife in Spain

The Spanish government has put itself on collision course with the national press with the announcement that it wants to ban adverts offering sexual services from their classified sections.

The explicit adverts, which fill at least a page in most of Spain's dailies, are worth €40m (£34m) a year to the struggling newspaper industry.

President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero made the announcement during this week's state of the nation speech, saying it was part of a strategy to fight the people trafficking and sexual exploitation that was rife in the country.

"As long as these advertisements exist, they contribute to the idea of this activity as normal," he said.

The Association of Spanish Newspaper Editors responded by saying that the logical policy would be for the government to make prostitution illegal. "If it was illegal, then newspapers wouldn't carry the ads," a spokesman said.

If the ads are banned, newspapers will want to be compensated and, worryingly for Zapatero, El País, a staunch supporter of his socialist party, is the paper that earns the most from this form of advertising. With its left-liberal sensibilities and readership profile, El País is the Spanish paper that most resembles the Guardian, and yet it earns €5m a year from advertising prostitution. >>> Stephen Burgen in Barcelona | Friday, July 16, 2010

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France Debates the Return of Bordellos
THE TELEGRAPH: French MPs are calling for bordellos to return to France more than 60 years after they were banned.

Chantal Brunel, a political ally of President Nicolas Sarkozy, says it should be made legal for women to sell sex on licensed premises, and pay tax on their earnings.

Her demand comes as survey revealed six out of ten French people wanted brothels to be legalised.

Ms Brunel, an MP for the ruling UMP party, said: "Women selling sex should be allowed to do so legally on special licensed premises.

"This would free thousands of women from the exploitation they suffer at the hands of pimps and criminal gangs and offer them much more security they currently have on the streets.

"It would give them a legal taxable income and they would not be handing over large sums of their earning to a pimp."

France had 1,400 legal brothels before they were all shut down under a law banning prostitution in 1946. >>> | Thursday, March 18, 2010

Vatican Chorister and Usher in Gay Prostitution Scandal
THE TELEGRAPH: One of Pope Benedict's ceremonial ushers and a member of an elite choir in St Peter's Basilica have been implicated in a gay prostitution ring, in the latest sexual scandal to taint the Vatican.

Ghinedu Ehiem, a Nigerian, was dismissed by the Vatican from a prestigious choir after his name appeared in transcripts of police wiretaps.

In the wiretaps, Mr Eheim is allegedly heard negotiating over the procurement of male prostitutes.

The wiretaps were carried out in connection with a probe into corruption in contracts to build public works, including the planned venue in Sardinia of last year's G8 summit.

Among four people arrested last month in the corruption probe was Angelo Balducci, an engineer who is a board member of Italy's public works department and a construction consultant to the Vatican.

Balducci is also a member of an elite group called "Gentlemen of His Holiness" – ushers who are called to serve in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace on major occasions such as when the pope receives heads of state or presides at big events.

Balducci was arrested on corruption charges and the allegations of prostitution emerged only later.

Excerpts of the wiretaps and police documents published in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica showed that Ehiem, 40, had been in regular contact with Balducci before Balducci's arrest last month and the subject of their conversation was gay sex. >>> | Friday, March 05, 2010