General information

The Red Thread was founded in 1985 by (ex) sexworkers with the aim to fight the rights of all sexworkers, who work in the Netherlands, whether male, female, Dutch or foreign. Its strong point is that its expertise comes straight from contacts with sexworkers.

The Red Thread was founded in 1985 by (ex) sexworkers with the aim to fight the rights of all sexworkers, who work in the Netherlands, whether male, female, Dutch or foreign. Its strong point is that its expertise comes straight from contacts with sexworkers.

The Red Thread regularly visits the workers in the sexindustry. In the Red Light Districts, the brothels, the street walking areas, everywhere the outreaching workers of The Red Thread try to inform as many sexworkers as possible about working conditions, taxation, rights and privacy regulations. The Red Thread doesn’t shun the informal sector. The Red Thread does not cooperate with the police. In doing so it gets a quite complete picture of the conditions under which sexworkers do their jobs. Men and women with individual questions can be referred to the right social services, under strict observance of their privacy.
It is true, the sex industry is a legal business, but social exclusion, discrimination and exploitative working conditions still occur too often.

Prostitution in the Netherlands
There are on an average 25.000 sexworkers in the Netherlands. They work the streets, behind the windows, in nightclubs, in small scale brothels, the so called private houses, in massage parlours and in escort agencies. Over the last decade, the internet and cell phones have become increasingly important as media to attract clients. In any case it is forbidden for both clients and managers in the sex business to do business with sexworkers under the age of 18.
Since October 2000 it is legal to operate a brothel, provided the owners and managers comply with labour regulations and to the conditions that local authorities set for obtaining a licence. These concern the places where to operate and building regulations. These matters will be checked by the municipalities, health authorities and the police.
Every town and village has the liberty to develop its own prostitution policy. As a result the regulations may vary widely between municipalities. Some villages will try to prevent sexworkers from operating from their homes, others will be more liberal. So, anyone who decides to enter the sexbusiness is advised to check the local regulations.

The police, civil servants and the tax office can legitimately ask sexworkers to show them their ID, to check their age and to find out if someone has a legal title to do the work. However, they are not allowed to write down personal data. They can only do this if they suspect of some crime or when they have serious reasons to believe that you are a victim of human trafficking.

Labour regulations
Brothel operators will tell sexworkers they are self-employed. But on a closer look this may not be the case because the managers exercise authority over them. He or she will tell them which hours to show up, which prices to ask and decides how much the sexworker get. The tax office and social security authorities will in most cases not believe that the sexworker is truly self employed. And they will extract the owner’s share on social security payments. If sexworkers are in fact self-employed they determine their own hours, prices, dress code and they can work at will in several places. Even if sexworkers meet a few of these conditions the tax office may decide the owner is an employer because he/she is too much reliant on the takings of the sexworkers in his company.  We advise all sexworkers not to take part in the legal proceedings in which the owner may engage to fight the decision of the tax office.

In all cases, whether sexworkers are self employed or not, it is forbidden by Dutch law to force sexworkers to accept a client he/she doesn’t want and he/she has a right to refuse any sexual act. No one can be forced to use alcohol and drugs with clients.

The Red Thread is working on more detailed information about working relations in English. But sexworkers are advised not to sign anything without consulting The Red Thread.

Taxation and money:
Of course, everyone wants to make as much money as possible without handing out too much to the taxman. But the last few years it is next to impossible to stay out of reach of the taxman. The Red Thread is not an aide of the taxman, but does point out the risks of tax evasion.

The Red Thread advises all sexworkers to keep records or hire a bookkeeper. Our website contains a list of reliable bookkeepers. The Red Thread has forced the major banks in the Netherlands to accept sexworkers who want to open a business account.

Healthcare and counseling:
Sexwork is a taxing, both physical and mental. A sexworker has to set his/her own limits, not just towards clients but also in respect to the brothel operators. Most sexworkers lead a double life and the lack of respect from society can be an extra burden. The colleagues of The Red Thread will offer mental support or can refer sexworkers with specific questions.

Most sexworkers, like models and sportsmen, will have to change their careers long before the age of retirement. Therefore it is wise to set apart some money so they don’t have to continue working against their will.

Her/his body is the sexworker’s main tool. The Red Thread advises regular (voluntary) health checks. Sexworkers  have a free choice which doctor to see. This can be any doctor, not just the socalled club doctor. The GGD ‘s (municipal health care) are specialized in low cost or free health checks. The experts of the GGD regularly visit the brothels to give health education.