Amsterdam has long been held as the model for the modern sex industry, with prostitution legalized and rebranded as part of the leisure industry. The tide is changing in the Netherlands , a small European country, nestled northwest of Germany on the North Sea, as over 45, mostly young people have signed a petition pushing to discourage prostitution by penalizing those who pay for sex -- despite objection from the country's sex workers.
Led by a social media campaign called "I Am Priceless," the petition passed the 40, signatures needed to launch a debate by lawmakers in the Dutch Parliament. The signatures will be handed over to Parliament on Tuesday after they are checked to ensure they belong to eligible voters. Buying sex is just wrong," said Natasja Bos, one of two co-founders of the Christian and feminist-inspired protest group Exxpose, which put forward the petition.
Prostitution has been legal in the Netherlands since , allowing the buying and selling of sex between "consenting adults. Bos added that there are workers who want to leave the profession who were abused as children, had PTSD symptons, and were addicted to alcohol and drugs. Many of the country's sex workers disagree with the petition, though. They're concerned that their employment and their safety will be affected. MORE: 3 dead in shooting on Netherlands tram, suspect arrested.
We will have to hide, to work in apartments, where we will be alone and vulnerable. A fund is to be created to offer sex workers protection, tackle trafficking and deliver short-term residence permits to foreign prostitutes who want to leave the business, a government official told ABC News.
The plan is to have it in Parliament by the end of the year. On Saturday afternoon, prostitutes took to the streets to condemn what they saw as a damper on their business, drawing support from celebrities, intellectuals and ordinary citizens.
