Amsterdam Sets New Crackdown on Pimps

Authorities said Friday they will introduce new measures to crack down on pimps and stop the exploitation of prostitutes.

Under the proposed policies, brothel owners, escort services and so-called "security" firms that work with prostitutes will be forced to seek a license and will be subject to financial auditing, the city government said in a statement.

The proposal, which must be approved by the City Assembly, is part of a larger strategy to reduce criminality associated with prostitution, the city said.

"The removal of the ban on brothels in 2000 that made prostitution legal hasn't achieved what was expected. (Instead) it gave free reign for the exploitation of women in the sex industry," the statement said.

It added that it hoped to increase the legal age for prostitution from 18 to 21.

Prostitution was formally legalized in the hopes that regulation would improve health conditions for sex workers and reduce petty crime in the city's famed red light district.

Since 2003, the city has been auditing and closing brothels and sex clubs to clamp down on money laundering in the area, part of the city's historic center.

In September, Amsterdam announced that a public housing corporation had bought 18 buildings in the red light district to redevelop them, a deal expected to shutter one third of the windows where scantily clad prostitutes stand to attract customers.

Forced prostitution has always been illegal, but the city said Friday it needs to go further in protecting prostitutes from exploitation by pimps because few prostitutes dare to complain of abuse.