'Brutal slave trade’ in Dutch red light districts

Press, 5 March 1988, Page 33

'Brutal slave trade’ in Dutch red light districts

NZPA-Reuter The Hague

The Netherlands’ live-and-let-live attitude to prostitution has drawn visitors to the flamboyant red light districts of its cities for vears.

But Dutch politicians, women's rights activists and the police are now sounding the alarm over what they say is a brutal slave trade forcing thousands of foreign women into prostitution.

The women are lured to the Netherlands with promises of lucrative jobs as hotel receptionists, waitresses, house maids or dancers. Some are prostitutes in their own country, but believe they can earn more in the Netherlands.

Once they arrive, they are deprived of their passports and confined by smooth-talking operators who beat or coerce them into the sex trade, say the police. "We are always talking about human rights problems in the world. This is a human rights problem right, here and we have to do something about it," said an Opposition Labour member of ? Parliament and women's rights activist, Ms Wijnie Jabaaij.

The women come mostly from Colombia,

Ghana, Thailand, Zaire, the F hilippines ; and the Dominican Republic. Their exact number is not knowA because they are often unable to escape and are usually too frightened to report to the police. Experts estimate that up to 25,000 womenj work as ■ prostitutes; ini the Netherlands. Between 30 and 50 per cent are believed to be foreigners, from at least 53’countries. Some work legally as independent prostitutes; the rest rire forced into the trade,’ according to the police and social workers. Some women arrive with three month “artists” visas, enabling them to work in sex clubs, but become illegal aliens if they overstay their time. O'hers enter the country 7 as tourists, and in some cases operators obtain residency papers for women by arranging fictitious marriages to Dutchme i. The operators appear to be linked to organised crime, including illegal arms dealing and drug trafficking, Amsterdam's vite squad chief, Mr To Rcosjen, and his Hague counterpart, Mr Sjoerd Bleesma, told Reuters. The women are often

moved from country (to country within western Europe to avoid being detected, according to the police. i

“Forced prostitution is at least as bad in other countries,” said a social worker, Ms Ceciel Brand, who often mediates (between the police and prostitutes. “Holland is yery open about these things and is trying to face (the problem. “Over the years women from one country come, others disappear, but it is increasing all around," she said. In a recent Parliamentary debate, the Justice Minister, Frederick Korthals-Altes. promised more police action against forced prostitution. He said he would consider raising the maximum penalty for what the Dutch call “traffic in women" from five to six years imprisonment. But some politicians say this falls far short of the measures they want to see. Ms Jabaaij and others have argued for a 12-year maximum sentence, which would put the penalty for forced prostitution on a par with slavery and rape.

Len Rempt. a coalition liberal politician ( who heads Parliament’s eman-

cipation committee for women's rights, has urged the Government to warn women applying for visas al: Dutch embassies of the problems they could face. I Rempt favours legislation that would allow a woman who reports she has been forced into prostitution to stay in the Netherlands until the completion of proceedings against her operator, even if she is an illegal alien. • “A woman has to go to police and say ‘I am a victim’ for any (action to be taken,” he said. ( “That is difficult first because she does not trust the police. Second, she has to admit she is 'illegal' and third,i she is put bn a plane and sent back to where she comes from and is no longer an available witness for a trial." j The police say the women often are allowed to stay on a case-by-case basis, but insist they could work better if the practice (was covered by law.

"When a victim comes to us, we want to be able to say, ‘You can stay here until we ( are done with this case'," said Mr Bloesma, the head of the Hague vice squad.

But some activists say the Netherlands should go much further and i offer victims a temporary resi-

denc’e permit and a chance to train in another trade. j “These are women who have been exploited I because they had a bad and poor life in the Third World countries they come from," said’ a lawyer, Mr Ita van Dijk, of the Foundation Against Traffic in Women. !

“We are always saying we have a responsibility to the Third World: So why not help these women? Their numbers are not so big and they are already here,.’’ he said. i

Ironically, forced prostitution seems to have risen partly because of the greater assertiveness of Dutch prostitutes' who keep more of their, own earnings, insist on precautions against A.I.D.S:, and increasingly reserve the right to refuse customers.

“Dutch men want women from South America and Africa. They are very docile i and sweet," said Ms Jabaaij. She points to estimates that one in every four Dutchmen frequents prostitutes.

("The basic issue is how do we change men?" she said.

‘ “As long as men are the way they are — stupid — it will go on."