02 jun 2023 om 12:26Update: 22 minuten geleden
Utrecht is going to allow sex work from home as a test. Prostitution currently often takes place in a home, but this is still illegal. The municipality wants to allow sex work for one person per home under certain conditions.
The sex worker must be registered at the home address, no advertising may be placed on the facade and all income must go to the prostitute. To this end, the municipality must amend regulations. The trial will therefore not start until next year at the earliest. The trial should last three years.
In addition, Utrecht will introduce new regulations to enable one or two small-scale locations where sex workers can rent a workspace. They have to arrange these locations themselves, but the municipality wants to help start the initiative and enter into dialogue with the neighbourhood.
Utrecht has been looking for locations for prostitution for years
Utrecht has been struggling with sex work in the city for years since the closing of the windows in the Hardebollenstraat, the boats on the Zandpad and the streetwalking zone. New locations for prostitution always meet with resistance from local residents.
That is why the municipality commissioned research into ways for sex workers to perform their profession cleanly, safely and transparently. This research resulted in a number of recommendations, including prostitution from home.
“Sex work is a legal profession for which there must be room in Utrecht. In a safe manner that fits the current zeitgeist,” says alderman Eelco Eerenberg (Public Health). “Sex workers have been waiting too long for more legal opportunities to practice their profession in the city.”
