The priestesses of love are also protesting the earlier closing time of brothels, as well as the authorities’ plans to move them from the “red light district” of Da Wallen to large “erotic centers” on the outskirts of Amsterdam.
Officials in Amsterdam had decided to drive away British “zombie tourists” who come to the city in search of sex, drugs and alcohol.
On Thursday, dozens of demonstrators, some of whom covered their faces with masks or scarves, took to the streets and marched to the city hall to meet with the city’s mayor, Femki Halsem. “We really disagree [pilsētas varas iestāžu] proposed and imposed solutions. They didn’t even engage in negotiations with organizations of people working in the sex industry,” one of the priestesses of love told AFP. “We don’t want to move anywhere,” said another.
Halsema said she doesn’t see street girls as the cause of the problem, but over-tourism, crime and other factors. “However, the situation in the city center has become very problematic and we need to find a solution,” she said.
Residents of nearby areas have long complained about the quality of life in the area, which attracts huge numbers of tourists, particularly drunken Brits who urinate in public, vomit in canals, strip and become inappropriate when drunk.
On the other hand, the European Medicines Agency, which moved its headquarters from London to Amsterdam after Brexit, is, on the contrary, outraged by the plans to move its operations from the “red light district” in the neighborhood, as it will affect the safety of those working in the office late at night.
