RIJSWIJK, 28/10/03 - The legalization of prostitution in October 2000 has led to a decrease in the number of brothels. The majority of employees are foreign women, who suffer from competition from illegal Dutch prostitutes, according to prostitution branch organization VER.

The number of sex clubs in the Netherlands has dropped over the past three years from about 1,200 to less than 800. Dutch women often prefer to work independently, offering escort services in the illegal circuit from their homes or a hotel. In this way, they avoid the taxes that prostitutes employed by recognized brothels have to pay, VER spokesman A. van Dorst pointed out.

With Dutch women being unwilling to work there and foreign women only being admitted in small numbers, the brothels have an average staffing level of only 50 percent. "The Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) follows an extremely restrictive policy concerning work permits for prostitutes. " Nevertheless, about 60 percent of the women employed in brothels come from abroad, most of them from outside the EU, according to Van Dorst.

The VER claims that the situation in practice and the bureaucrats who make and monitor the rules are too far apart. "The legalization is a good step, but the process of normalization (of the sector) is not taking place smoothly enough," Van Dorst explained. He considers that the illegal escort sector causes unfair competition. The Lower House will hold a debate on the prostitution sector on 11 November.