A couple of the laws the Dutch employ are rather controversial, the obvious two being the legalisation of prostitution and certain drugs. To some, this is heaven, to others, it isn't. To me, it's darn sensible.Let's take a look at our own country, where drugs and prostitution are illegal. Does that mean that there are no drugs or prostitutes here? No, of course not, that would be a stupid thing to say. The Dutch political philosophy is that if you can't solve something, you should try and control it, rather than try to eliminate it all together. And things are working perfectly down there!
Prostitution is a full on legal industry down there. It is after all, the oldest business in the world. Girls who choose to go into this profession are given very regular health checks to make sure there is no danger of spreading STDs, and they are given proper wages and treated like proper employees. Some say this is terrible, and that the Dutchies should be more like us, and make prostitution illegal. So, what would you prefer? Healthy well paid women working in legal brothels or aids ridden illegal immigrants roaming around the streets under the control of the evil slave master known as the pimp? In Holland, there are no pimps, human trafficking down there is almost none existent. Can we say the same up here? Only a few hundred yards from where I’m sitting right now is the street where the Polish "ladies of the night" are said to roam at the later hours. These women didn't wake up one morning and think to themselves "I know what I’ll do today! I'll immigrate to Britain and sell my body to people, possibly getting myself aids! What a fab idea!", no, they were brought here illegally to try and make a better life for themselves, and look what’s happened to them.
The same can be said for drugs. In Holland, you can buy soft drugs like cannabis at your corner store with your milk and Pot Noodles. Here, you have to go to some back alley somewhere and risk getting mugged and/or arrested. In Holland, there is a distinction between hard drugs and soft drugs, which is the way it should be. In reality, these soft drugs are no worse for you than cigarettes, and according to some, they are actually better for you. Someone I know of who was pregnant in the groovy 70s asked her doctor if she could still do pot, he replied "So long as you don't smoke and drink, then you can do as much of that as you want". What does that say about this "illegal substance"? In The Netherlands, the drug dealer, like the pimp, is a specie of scum that doesn't roam it's flat lands.
The Dutch have a lot of great ideas, so maybe we should legalize these things, throw on some clogs, and listen to some Hocus Pocus.
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When it was announced that my family’s summer vacation would be in Germany and the Netherlands, I immediately noted that both of these countries have legalized prostitution. Ever since joining the anti-sex trafficking movement several years ago, I have been rather interested to get a deeper understanding of the whole “prostitution debate.” In America, many people are strongly against the legalization or unionization of prostitution on the grounds that it would only worsen the women’s situation and serve as a magnet for victims of sex trafficking. But others argue that with legalization comes a decrease in forced prostitution and pimps, and an increase in health care and other services available for prostitutes. Although I had formed my opinion before departing, I decided to meet with NGO representatives in Berlin and Amsterdam with an open mind.
First, I met with the organization KOK, the Coalition Against Sex Trafficking, in Berlin. Walking to their office from the U-bahn stop, I noticed the “Sex, Love and Dreams” store across the street. “How ironic” I first thought, but then it might be an excellent site for such an organization. The founder and director of KOK, Katrin Adams, was gracious enough to share her experience with me. She started by explaining that Germany has passed the “Prostitution Act” that allows people to apply for a work permit as a prostitute. However, it is completely up to the district authorities to grant these permits. So implementation of this act is not uniform at the country level.
Given that they are operating in a system of legalized prostitution, I was curious what the stance of counter-trafficking workers might be regarding this “profession.” Katrin explained that to case workers and NGOs, it should not and does not matter what their personal opinion of the issue may be. She said that two prevalent views within the community are either to view prostitution as an individual’s choice to be respected, or “prostitution no, prostitutes yes.” The latter implies that even though one may not agree with the legalization of the industry, the rights and well being of prostitutes are to be promoted and protected.
One common argument against legalization is that prostitution is a magnet for sex trafficking, meaning that in an environment of legalized prostitution traffickers will have more opportunity to exploit women. Even in the United States, where prostitution is criminalized for both “sellers” and “buyers,” the average age of entry into prostitution is 12-14. This is a stark contrast to the majority of Germany’s prostitutes, Katrin explained, as most of the prostitutes are older. Their Prostitution Act attempts to combat under-aged prostitution by allowing policemen to escort prostitutes between the ages of 18 and 21 to NGOs. Although this special protection is meant to help those at risk of forced prostitution, I wonder how often sex traffickers display their under-aged girls on the streets for policemen to see. And even more, the girl has to agree to speak with an NGO worker, and if that girl is a trafficking victim she is likely to fear the police and brutality of her trafficker should she even think about speaking to an NGO worker.
The Swedish government has criminalized the buying of sex, but does not criminalize prostitutes for selling sex. This model has been regarded as a beacon of hope for both camps, as it prevents prostitutes from being treated as criminals and shifts the criminality to the “buyers.” Katrin mentioned that she had conversations with Swedish NGO workers about this model, who told her that the Swedish government is spending lots of tax money to enforce this. Germany, she said, does not have that kind of spending money available. But I wonder why there should be a significant increase in spending if law enforcement officers were to arrest the buyers instead of the prostitutes. Granted there are more people willing to pay for sex than there are offering it (voluntarily or forced into it), but what if the majority of arrests were made on the buyers instead of the prostitutes. In the United States, for example, the majority of arrests in prostitution cases are the prostitutes, who are typically locked up in jail for criminal charges, and released on bail from their pimps, eagerly awaiting them outside the detention facility. For trafficking victims and girls under pimp control, this bail is added to their “debt” that they need to repay from “working” as a prostitute.
Regarding the social services provided to trafficking victims in Germany, Katrin explained that foreigners from EU member states have more access to services like health care and food rations. Victims from non-EU member states can be granted continued presence by law enforcement officers, which allows them to stay in Germany until their case is cleared. Cooperating with these officers in criminal proceedings can and does affect a victims’ status, but Katrin said it is not required to testify against one’s trafficker in order to access the social services. If the victim wants to return to her home country, organizations like KOK make arrangements for the safe travel and follow up with similar organizations in that country. One of their strongest partners, for example, is La Strada, a Czech counter-trafficking organization that has helped thousands of survivors rebuild their lives after repatriation.
From Berlin, I left for Amsterdam, a city known for its “debauchery” of legalized marijuana, prostitution, and same sex marriage. In fact, the city’s symbol of three X’s is often mistaken for the “triple X” symbol of adult-rated shows and clubs. Although I had no official meeting with a counter-trafficking organization, I tried to learn as much as I could about legalized prostitution from our tour guide. He explained that prostitution flourished in Amsterdam for decades, dating back to the Dutch trading companies that were more powerful than England. With so much commerce, trade, and travel, it was only natural, he stated, that prostitution became such a lucrative and widespread industry. Given the current situation of sex trafficking and forced prostitution, the city moved to legalization as a means to protect the prostitutes. “Working” in glass cubicles, with reddish pink lights, allows all passerby to see the prostitutes, see them collect money, and see who the service. “No room for trafficking here,” he concluded.
A little wary of his argument, I went for a stroll that night in the infamous red light district. Although I’ve walked through brothels in India and Thailand, my first look down one of the alleys made me physically sick. Groups of men and teenage boys, from various Western countries, stood outside the glass cages, jeering and balking at the women before picking one. The glass windows displayed half-dressed women, mostly from Eastern European countries, given away by their accents, and Asia. I have to wonder, if legalized prostitution is so empowering for the women, why aren’t there more Flemish prostitutes in Amsterdam? Turning out of the alleyway, I proceeded along another street with more glass cages, bars and sex shops. Not to my surprise, I saw thugs milling about the corners, perhaps waiting to visit a prostitute or perhaps waiting to collect the wages from “his” girls. Recently, the national government has pledged to close one-third of Amsterdam’s brothels, citing sex trafficking as one of their major concerns.
Walking home that night, I kept thinking about Victor Malarek’s book, The Natashas. In it, he describes his investigation in the Balkans and Western Europe, where he met with women in prostitution, traffickers, and customers. The one chapter etched in my mind describes the Serbian “breaking grounds,” where women are repeatedly raped, tortured and threatened into submission before being trafficked into prostitution. When they arrive in Western countries, including Germany and the Netherlands, they may seem like willing prostitutes, even smiling at customers. But really these women are fearful of their lives, or of their families’ lives, and act the part in order to survive. Even in the United States, women under pimp control take fake names and often become addicted to drugs and alcohol for temporary escape from their nightmarish existence. So the “crack whores” our society sneers at may really be suffering women, terrified to seek help, and so psychologically traumatized that drugs are the only relief.
Legalized prostitution may exist in various countries, in various forms, and yet one thing is universal: forced prostitution occurs regardless of the legal status. Even for the women who “chose” to be a prostitute, I wonder how many would leave if they were given an alternative source of income. Has our society, with all its wealth and progress, regressed to a point where women can make more money with their clothes off, then with their clothes on? And should women face the choice of prostitution or starvation? Hopefully, by providing more and better economic opportunities, we can strongly respond “no” to these questions.
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