Amsterdam: The city of Amsterdam says it plans to force brothel owners to submit a business plan to the city describing what measures they are taking to ensure sex workers are healthy and not being exploited.
Prostitution has been legal in the Netherlands since the year 2000, and tolerated in Amsterdam for centuries. But in recent years both the city and national government have become increasingly critical of the industry. Many prostitutes are victims of human trafficking or coerced by pimps. In 2007 Amsterdam shuttered a third of its brothels, saying they were a source of crime.
The city says it will adopt the measures announced today by 2013, whether or not a national law raising the minimum age for prostitutes to 21 has gone into effect.
PTI
