When the Ladies of Love Left Contact: Sanne Derks
[email protected] www.sannederks.com Ingrid Gercama
[email protected] www.anthrovision.com When the Ladies of Love Left… Mariska (a pseudonym) fears what will happen with her little savings now the COVID19 outbreak rages on. It has already been weeks since the Ministry of Health’s Outbreak Management Team has prohibited so-called "contact professions", and Mariska and her colleagues have been at home ever since. "Some ladies will suffer unbearably", the representative of the Prostitution Information Centre (PIC) says. Many sexworkers she knows work illegally behind the famous red light windows and will not be able to access social emergency care. "They will be out on the street before long". Others, she says, continue to work out of pure necessity, risking their own and families' health. The COVID-19 pandemic has a severe impact on the daily life of Amsterdam’s Red Light District. There is no area in the Netherlands where the measures to prevent the disease from spreading have created such a large contrast with the daily status-quo than at ‘de Wallen’, as the area with many brothels, coffeeshops and sex workers is cal- led. The streets are empty -- tourists, customers that usually brought much needed money, have long gone. This photo story tells the story of the ladies of love and explores their fears, doubts and shows what actually happened when the red curtains closed. About us: Sanne is a Dutch photojournalist with a strong focus on social documentary projects. She publishes in various me- dia e.g.