For several days now, squatters have been occupying a few former prostitution rooms in the Red Light District. They want to express their solidarity with sex workers who are fighting against the arrival of the erotic center in the South.
This concerns the windows in the Sint Annenkwartier, which is located between Sint Annenstraat, Sint Jansstraat, Warmoesstraat and Oudezijds Voorburgwal. A spokesperson for the squatters’ group states that the erotic center yet to be built in the South ‘is in fact an erotic prison’.
People with money
“If we let the mayor have his way, the Red Light District will soon look just like the Nine Streets: a clean shopping center for people with money,” says the squatter. “We do not accept that, and that is why we will sabotage every step taken towards the erotic center.”
According to the squatters’ group, the windows have been empty for almost two years and are owned by a real estate company. The squatters want to turn it into a meeting place for sex workers.
Protest marches
The plan for the erotic center has caused criticism in recent years from various groups, including some sex workers. They loved several protest marches and said they don’t want to be moved.
The police could not yet say tonight whether they are already aware of the squatting action.