The red light district is a famous place in Amsterdam, Netherlands (Photo: Reuters).
According to AFP , the atmosphere became tense as many people disagreed with Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema over a controversial plan to move legal prostitution from the city's red-light district to a prostitution center in the suburbs.
In a meeting room in the south of the city, hundreds of angry residents protested the plan because they did not want a large brothel on their doorstep. They were on the same side as sex workers who wanted to stay in Amsterdam's red light district.
Prostitution has been legalized in the Netherlands since 2000. However, this is not the first time that Dutch politicians have had controversial debates about issues related to prostitution and red light districts.
In the capital city of Amsterdam, the red light district has received many complaints about the overload of drunken tourists, noise, and "disrespect for prostitutes and the people" living there. In addition, the situation of law violations and environmental sanitation in the red light district has also caused Amsterdam authorities to "have a headache" trying to find a solution.
That's why Mayor Halsema thought of closing the red light district and building a complex dedicated to prostitution on the outskirts of the city.
However, the plan has been controversial and has faced opposition from people who do not want their area to become a new prostitution hub.
Sex workers, on the other hand, say they are being unfairly blamed for complaints about crime and sanitation in the red-light district's brothels.
It will take several years before Amsterdam can build a new prostitution center because the city council has yet to decide on a specific location, as well as facing a wave of public opposition.
In March, dozens of sex workers wearing masks and carrying signs reading “Save the Red Light District” marched to city hall, saying the plan would harm their livelihoods and was unsafe.
Mayor Halsema said she believes the sex centre will not pose any danger and that sex workers will actually be safer.
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