Prostitution in the neighbourhood: Impact on residents and implications for municipal regulation

Publication date: September 2016Source:International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, Volume 46
Author(s): Dominique Boels, Antoinette Verhage
Red-light districts (RLD’s) are still assumed to be associated with nuisance, deterioration and criminality. However, little empirical research deals with the experienced impacts of RLD’s on the local neighbourhood. This paper adds to this skinny body of literature, by investigating residents’ perceptions on the impact of window prostitution in a RLD situated in a residential area in Western-Europe. Although not all residents experience negative impacts of prostitution, the municipal regulation still incorporates certain residents’ concerns regarding nuisance, which is conform the ongoing regeneration and gentrification of the broader area, which can be framed within the ‘urban renaissance’ discourse. At the same time, the city approach is also characterised by elements to maintain prostitution in the area and to improve sex workers’ safety and working conditions.