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. The Guardian, El País, and Deutsche Welle. She is a member of the Women Photograph network and a Fel- low of the Robert Bosch Foundation. In 2019 she was awarded the 3rd prize of the De Zilveren Camera, a presti- gious Dutch photojournalism award, was selected for the New York Portfolio Reviews and nominated for the 6x6 Talent Programme of World Press. www.sannederks.com
Ingrid Gercama is a prize-winning journalist based in the Netherlands. She mostly reports on social, environmental and health issues, and publishes in the Sunday Times, The Guardian and the New Internationalist. She is a Fellow of the Robert Bosch Foundation, and a European Journalism Center, Pulitzer Center on Crisis and Free Press Unli- mited grantee. She was also awarded the Lorenzo Natali Media Prize from the European Commission for her re- porting on the Ebola epidemic in Liberia. www.anthrovision.com
The Red Lights of the Wallen continue to shine bright even if commerce has been banned since the 15th of March. Many sex- workers have stopped working, or have turned to do offer their services online.
The alleyway next to the Oude Kerk is normally rented by ladies from Latin America, who their customers price for their sweetness and sass, explains Mariska - a representative of the Prostitution Information Centre (PIC) with a smile. Registered as a nurse in the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, Mariska tries to keep her profession secret. It is out of fear and stigma that she goes through great lengths to protect her identity. She has prevented from applying for corona emergency funding, as nurses are not eligible for such funding.
Closed red curtains reflected in an Amsterdam canal show sex work came to a halt. Social distance of 1,5 meter is hard to maintain in a “contact-profession”, with physical exchanges being the main services the window girls offer. Sex and strip clubs have been ordered closed by Health Minister Hugo de Jonge’s Outbreak Management Team (OMT) and will remain so until at least the 1st of September.
Jeanet usually organises gangbangs in clubs, which is not possible now. She applied for a Tozo welfare payment provided by the government. Awaiting the payments, she turned to do escort work illegally in order to meet her rent payments. Behind some of the windows in the Red Light District a poster is put up to show support for the Dutch care system.
Bars and terraces remain closed. The Red Light District is located in one of the most antique parts of town, but in non-COVID19 times it’s splendor is hidden by mass tourism. The Bulldog, a popular coffee shop frequented by tourists, is also located in the area and has been closed for visitors since the 15th of March. Measures have relaxed slightly since then, and the coffee shop now provides take-aways.
Mariska received us in the offices of PIC, the organisation worried about the fate of "their girls" during this difficult time. It is hard for her to estimate the scale of the suffering in the area : "girls like us don't always register, they try to avoid getting in touch with authorities, particularly when they have come illegally. The lack of data on the number of sex workers is now harming an effective emergency response”. Anouk is a Dutch latex-model and works as escort-lady. Afraid to contract or transmit the disease, she temporarily stopped working. Her income dropped dramatically. She capitalized on the unique opportunity and used the empty streets of ‘De Wallen’ as a decor for a photoshoot to improve her work portfolio.
A streetview of the almost empty streets, leaving space to residents and locals, people who usually go unnoticed among the number of tourists strolling the area. Ricardo and Karen are a couple that perform erotic shows at the famous Casa Rosso. Their boss announced to pay their salaries for the first month, but they are uncertain of what will happen afterwards. Karen is not only worried about her income, but also about her family living in Ecuador and Spain, where the number of COVID-19 deaths have expanded rapidly.
Employees of sex clubs are often paid in a payment construction the tax authorities call ‘opting’. Employers pays the relevant taxes, but workers do not have a fixed contract, nor the protection benefits more formal employees have.