WUNRN
THE NETHERLANDS – STUDY IN AMSTERDAM ON CLIENTS OF
PROSTITUTES & ROLE IN REPORTING ABUSE
Report Is in the Dutch Language - BUT a SUMMARY Is Provided in English – See Below.
Why conduct a study concerning the clients of
prostitutes?
Clients can perform an important whistleblowing role in the fight
against abuse in the Amsterdam prostitution
branch. With a view to potential interventions geared towards
clients, the Municipality of Amsterdam is hoping
to gain more insight into the client population. The Amsterdam
Prostitution Programme has therefore
commissioned the Public Health Service Amsterdam (GGD Amsterdam)
to perform a study into the clients of
prostitutes in the licensed sector in Amsterdam. The study paints
a picture of men who were clients of
Amsterdam prostitutes working in window prostitution /clubs
/escort agencies in 2013-2014. The study’s key
sources of information were prostitutes and clients. A total of
986 clients and 195 prostitutes completed surveys.
Interviews were also conducted with 11 clients and 11 prostitutes.
See Chapter 1.
How many clients are there in Amsterdam?
The licensed sector in Amsterdam consists of window brothels,
clubs and escort agencies. An estimate of the
number of clients has been made for these three sectors. Window
prostitution in Amsterdam receives between
2,000 and 3,100 clients on a daily basis. The number of unique
clients per year is estimated in the range of
117,000 to 182,000. The number of clients who visit escort
agencies and clubs is significantly lower: 14,000 to
22,000 for escort agencies and 22,000 to 35,000 for clubs. The
total size of the licensed sector in Amsterdam can
be
estimated at roughly 195,000
unique clients per year (between 150,000 and 240,000 clients).
What kind of men pay for sex?
Amsterdam
prostitutes in the licensed sector have a highly diverse clientèle with respect
to age, ethnic origin,
language,
residence, education, relationship status and frequency of visits. Fewer than a
third of the clients live
in
Amsterdam; the rest live in other parts of the Netherlands or abroad. The
majority of the clients have paid
employment.
Over half of the clients are single, while 2 out of 5 clients report being in a
relationship at the time
of their
prostitution visit.
Most
clients report sexual curiosity as the primary reason behind their first visit
to a prostitute. As curiosity
decreases,
other reasons for visiting prostitutes begin to play a larger role:
- Paid
sex as the only possibility for being with a woman;
- Paid
sex as a replacement for a lacklustre sex life in a long-term relationship;
- Need
for sex and company due to advanced age or after the end of a long-term
relationship;
- The
excitement of searching and selecting;
- Escaping the
monotony of daily life. See Chapter 3.
What are the facts and figures regarding prostitution visits in
Amsterdam?
Clients
visit prostitutes five to six times per year on average. Clients generally pay
50 euros for window
prostitutes
and 110 and 150 euros for club and escort prostitutes, respectively. The
frequency of the visits
depends
not only on the clients’ financial situation, but also on their relationships, stage
of life, varying need for
paid
sex and the developments in the Amsterdam prostitution sector.
Almost
sixty per cent of the respondents have made use of the services of prostitutes
for longer than 10 years.
Over
two-thirds of the clients return on occasion to the same prostitute. These
regular clients attach importance
to (sexual)
intimacy and certainty of the service.
One
out of five respondents makes use of multiple forms of prostitution, e.g. both
window prostitution and club
prostitution.
The majority of the clients never use alcohol or drugs during visits, while
almost one out of eight
clients
frequently (usually or always) uses alcohol and/or drugs during visits. See
Chapter 3.
What do clients think about abuse?
Most
clients disapprove coercion and exploitation in the prostitution sector. Almost
seventy per cent of the
clients
feel responsible for abuse in the prostitution sector. In response to the
question ‘Who is responsible for
reporting
abuse?’, almost three-fourths mention ‘the client’ as one of the responsible
parties. Clients who feel
responsible
are less likely to visit window prostitutes (5% less). Responsible clients are
more likely to be found
among
Club clients, foreign clients and clients over the age of 45.
Over
forty per cent of clients are willing to report abuse. The most frequently
mentioned factors that discourage
reporting
are:
- Lack
of clear and reliable information about abuse;
- Insufficient
trust in one’s own judgment;
- Stigmatisation
by the government;
- Distrust
regarding how abuse will be dealt with.
Clients
also mention factors that encourage reporting:
- Guaranteed
anonymity and safety;
- Ease
and accessibility of reporting;
- Transparency
regarding the process of handling reports.
Clients
who score high on willingness to report are slightly less likely to visit
window prostitutes (2% less) and are
more
likely to visit clubs (4% more). Regular clients and clients over the age of 45
are also more often willing to
contact
the authorities if they were to observe abuse. However, only one out of five
respondents indicates being
able
to recognise signs of abuse. See Chapter 4.
Are there different client profiles?
Based on their attitudes towards abuse in the prostitution
branch, clients can be categorised
according to
different
profiles. The study has identified five client profiles†. One of these profiles, ‘the
whistleblower’, is both
able and
willing to play this role.
Type Description
1. The carefree client
Does not feel responsible for
abuse, does not see a role for clients
Acknowledges that there is a
difference between voluntary and forced prostitution. Acknowledges the
problem for a small portion of the
market with respect to sex slavery and underaged girls, but does not
feel responsible.
Denies or trivialises the problem
by:
- blaming the prostitute by stating that a client is not responsible
for her choices
- comparing the responsibility of the prostitution client with the
responsibility of clients in
other sectors, such as the
clothing industry in low-wage countries
- retaining an overly romantic/naive image of the Amsterdam
prostitution branch
Does not take criteria of forced
prostitution into account when selecting prostitutes. Does not feel guilty
about forced prostitution.
2. The denier
Feels responsible, but doesn’t see
a role for himself (denial)
Like the carefree client,
acknowledges the seriousness of the problem, but points to the prostitute and
her circumstances as the cause of
the problem. Assumes responsibility, however, and tries to avoid
vulnerable women.
Feels guilty about forced
prostitution in general, but denies his own role by:
- saying that he is not able to distinguish between women who have
voluntarily chosen to
become prostitutes and those who
have been forced into prostitution
- denying that he has had sex with forced prostitutes because abuse
only occurs among
window prostitutes or Eastern
European prostitutes
- saying that it’s useless to take action because prostitutes
quickly return to their pimp
anyway
- being afraid of negative consequences for himself or the
prostitute in question
- saying that it is difficult for clients to recognise subtle signs,
while clear signs can be easily
recognised by the police
3. The avoider
Feels responsible, sees his own
role as staying away (avoidance)
Acknowledges that forced
prostitution exists and feels partly responsible for the phenomenon. Feels
guilty about contributing to a
system in which women become victims or employs strategies for
recognising women who have been
forced into prostitution. Avoids forced prostitutes or stops visiting
prostitutes entirely. Doesn’t
contact the authorities, doesn’t undertake action to help prostitutes,
doesn’t want anything to do with
them (any more).
4. The rescuer
Feels responsible, sees his own
role as personally ‘rescuing’ a prostitute
Acknowledges that forced
prostitution exists and feels responsible for the prostitute in question. He
doesn’t see himself as guilty;
rather, he points to human traffickers and pimps as the guilty parties.
Attempts to “rescue” a prostitute
with money, lodging or advice, or by confronting her pimp/boyfriend.
Believes that he is very important
to the prostitute in question.
5. The whistleblower
Feels responsible, sees his own
role as notifying the authorities
Acknowledges that forced
prostitution exists and feels responsible for the prostitute in question or
partly
responsible for the phenomenon.
Employs strategies for recognising women who have been forced into
prostitution. Avoids forced
prostitutes. When he encounters clear signs of (very) severe abuse, he
contacts the authorities. Is
well-informed regarding the state of affairs of the Amsterdam prostitution
branch as well as his
rights/obligations as a whistleblowing client.
Based on the results of the client survey, clients have been
divided into categories based on three dimensions:
sense of responsibility, ability to recognise (signs of) abuse and willingness to act. The scores on these three
dimensions have been combined with the five client profiles and
the estimated size of the client population. The
table below provides a rough estimate of the size of the various
client profiles.
GGD Amsterdam
Client profile Online survey score
Sample percentage Estimated size
Carefree client Scores low/neutral
on sense of responsibility 31.2% 60,000
Denier/ avoider/ rescuer Scores
high on sense of responsibility but low on
willingness to act 31.6% 60,000
Potential whistleblower Scores
high on sense of responsibility and willingness
to act, but low on ability to
recognise 23.6% 45,000
Actual whistleblower Scores high
on sense of responsibility, ability to
recognise and willingness to act
13.6% 26,000
There is thus a group of engaged and responsible clients who are
willing to report cases of abuse, as long as
good, sufficient and appropriate reporting methods exist. If the
current study’s sample were representative for
the entire client population in Amsterdam, approximately 26,000
Dutch and foreign men are willing and able to
play a whistleblowing role. There is also a group of circa 45,000
men who are willing to report abuse, but are not
able to properly interpret signs of abuse. See Chapter 4.
What do prostitutes think about their clients?
Most
prostitutes try to get as many regular clients as possible. They do so not only
because a regular clientèle
provides
a regular income, but also because contact with regular clients is often
pleasant. Prostitutes usually
make
appointments with their regular clients over the telephone. Prostitutes
describe the majority of their
clientele
as ‘good clients’. Nevertheless, most prostitutes have also had experiences
with unpleasant clients. In
particular,
these are clients who make a fuss about using a condom, clients who have used
(too much) alcohol
and/or
drugs, clients who show little respect or who do not stick to agreements.
Prostitutes would thus like it if
clients
were to be given ‘a little instruction’ about how they should interact with
prostitutes.
Prostitutes
have little trust in clients as whistleblowers of abuse. They can’t imagine
that clients would actually,
sincerely
and for the right reasons be interested in the well-being of prostitutes.
According to the prostitutes, the
majority
of their clients would not take any action if they were to observe signs of
abuse because clients want to
distance
themselves from the problems of prostitutes and protect their own privacy. See
Chapter 5.
Conclusion: can the Municipality of Amsterdam rely on clients in
dealing with abuse in the prostitution
branch?
Yes,
the untapped potential of clients to serve a whistleblowing role is modest, but
present. The study shows
that
there are Dutch and foreign clients who are willing to report signs of abuse to
institutions. This puts clients in
a
position as a party that can potentially play a role in fighting abuse in the
Amsterdam prostitution branch. After
all,
clients generally describe themselves as concerned, responsible and willing to
act. However, the study also
contains
outcomes that provide a more nuanced view of the potential of ‘the client as
whistleblower’. For
instance,
clients harbour a deep-seeded distrust towards authorities who, according to
them, are guilty of
stigmatising
clients as ‘abusers of vulnerable women’. Clients find that the Municipality of
Amsterdam
exaggerates
the extent of the problem in order to back up a supposed anti-prostitution
lobby. They therefore
have
little insight and trust regarding how Amsterdam is dealing with cases of
abuse. Clients hold the police and
municipality
responsible for dealing with abuse and do not consider themselves allies in a
common fight against
abuse.
Moreover, only one in five clients reports being capable of recognising signs
of abuse. In addition,
prostitutes
describe their clientèle as much less responsible than the clients themselves
describe. In fact, the
prostitutes
find that clients are capable, but not willing to
report. According to them, clients are primarily
occupied
with their own pleasure and sexual arousal.