Deliberating de Wallen: notes from the red light district — THE NORTH STAR

By Andrea Austin

The red light district has become an iconic symbol of the commercialized sex industry. Pimps and human traffickers often use these districts to their advantage, looking to make a profit from the many johns/buyers who frequently visit in search of spending a few dollars on a child or woman. This happens everywhere. The United States. Thailand. India. The Netherlands.

Last week I had the opportunity to visit one of the largest and most infamous red light districts: de Wallen in Amsterdam.

I steeled myself against the images I would encounter – the scantily clad women posing in the windows or the black curtains drawn to shield onlookers from what was happening inside. To my surprise, what stood out to me was not what was happening behind the glass, but rather the scene in the street.

Firstly, it is a well-known fact that the red light district is a major tourist destination alongside other attractions such as the Van Gogh museum, Dam Square, and the Anne Frank House. It was surreal observing the hordes of tourists milling about touting cameras and pointing at maps, taking photos in front of ads for sex clubs or buying souvenirs from the sex shops. It was normalized, or worse encouraged, voyeurism at its best.

Secondly, there were large groups of men – clearly potential johns – crawling the streets and eyeing the women. The effect was something of a mall; the men were literally window shopping. It was a stunning manifestation of the commodification of sex, of women’s bodies as products. There were women of every age, shape, and ethnicity available for the choosing.

The impression that the commercial sex industry is legal and regulated in the Netherlands has created an expectation from tourists and buyers alike that visiting, and possibly participating, in the red light district is a necessary part of the experience. As a result, the secondary market of women and children who are trafficked exists, hidden by and integrated in the legalized system. In the past, Dutch politicians have even laid claim that more than 10,000 women are involved in the sex industry, but of these women only 2,000 or so are employed legally. The rest are caught up in the illegal market that is “rife with sex slavery.”

Lastly, and the most striking for me, were the people who were walking through the red light district without giving it a second thought. The red light district was a normal part of the scenery, to be accepted, ignored, or unnoticed. How have we (the global “we”) reached a point where the buying and selling of women’s bodies has become, to some, a normal part of everyday life?

It was a wonder to observe the wide-eyed tourists, potential johns, and complacent passersby – and, scattered among them for all to see, the women in windows. I felt a renewed commitment to fight human trafficking as I walked away from the scene, leaving the dull glow of the red lights behind me.

Deliberating de Wallen: notes from the red light district — THE NORTH STAR