++ [ originally posted by Kaiser Franco ] ++
I've no idea how the system works in Belgium tbh. Considering it's supposed to be the same as in Holland, I'd guess the prostitutes should be more protected than elsewhere. But then again Im no expert : maybe Erik knows this stuff.
On a general note, I am under the impression that the sex workers in Amsterdam's red-light district and the likes seem more healthy than those on the streets of Rome, Paris or New York.
I must've explained this before, surely? :undecide:
Well, for those interested:
Prostitution used to be a massive problem in Dutch society. We're a nation at the heart of capitalist Europe; we distribute, transport, connect and move. We have some major logistic crosspoints within our nation and as a result; drug trafficking and even smuggling of people are all serious problems.
Prostitution in Europe is usually conducted by women (to a lesser extent men as well) from 2nd or 3rd world nations, who have been brought here by people smugglers with a promise of a better life. They are forced to work for criminal organisations for very little money (if any at all indeed) and with insane risks to their lives.
The problem kept growing in Holland, until the government decided to put a stop to it. Prostitution was legalised; came under governmental control, and criminal organisations have mostly stopped their dirty business on this front because they could no longer make a profit. They cannot compete with the legal prostitution system.
Modern brothels (the red light districts) are official private companies registered at the chamber of commerce and other organisations. They pay taxes, are subject to hygene laws and other rules. The prositutes (most of them still women but a lot of them men) have trade unions securing their rights, a stable official income, chances of promotion and all the other things you would have in any other 'normal' company.
Though of course, prostitution is often an option desperate people end up in. People who lost their old jobs, are short on money and see no other option but to sell their own bodies, if you will. That's why the government is running various programmes (educational and others) that offers the chance for anyone in the business to quit their job and find something else to do with their other talents. These programmes are intensely stimulated by the government, which has legalised prostitution, but doesn't hold it to be an ideal form of business (or type of life) for the people involved.
Mind you; it's been a number of years since I wrote a report on the subject and I haven't kept up to date with the changes in the sector ever since so I could be wrong on some details. The outlines, however, are true.