Dutch Parliament OKs Brothel Bill
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THE HAGUE — Parliament has passed a bill legalizing brothels and giving cities more of a say in how Holland’s centuries-old prostitution industry is run.
The legislation, passed Tuesday with little opposition, allows local authorities to set rules on brothel locations and standards for safety and hygiene. It will become effective later this year.
Prostitution in the Netherlands has been legal since the 1970s where “red light” districts with women posing in shop windows are a part of history and custom.
The new law’s most significant effect is to legalize brothels and eliminate selective enforcement of brothel bans, which pitted the sex industry against neighborhood groups and police.
The bill formally abrogates a 1911 ban on pimping. Brothel-keeping or encouraging prostitution has remained illegal in many cities, including Amsterdam, which has a flourishing sex industry thought to employ at least 2,000 people.
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