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Serious Good Times for Cheongsters - Cheap Hotels and Cheap Cheesepies!
- Thread starter Pinkieslut
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- Joined
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- Messages
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How the coronavirus impacts prostitution in Brussels
Thursday, 19 March 2020
In the North Quarter, the brothels were closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Credit: Belga
The police have closed three hotels in Brussels after sex workers in the area ignored the government measures instructing people to stay inside to the further spread of the new coronavirus (Covid-19).
On Wednesday morning, the police closed ‘Studio 2000’, ‘Studio Europe’ and ‘5th Avenue’, three hotels in Brussels Alhambra district known for prostitution until 3 April, following repeated complaints from local residents. “We still saw prostitutes on the streets soliciting, all while the government is calling on the whole population to stay inside,” said Jan Leerman of the Alhambra neighbourhood committee to Het Nieuwsblad.
“In the North Quarter, the brothels were closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, but in our district, prostitutes continued soliciting as if nothing had changed,” Leerman said. “We do not think it is normal for a neighbourhood committee to have to report these problems, which can harm public health,” he added.
“The closure is part of an ordinance that Brussels’ mayor Philippe Close took on Tuesday, on the prohibition of prostitution in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus,” Maïthe Van Rampelbergh, Close’s spokesperson, told Het Laatste Nieuws. “This concerns both prostitution on the street and prostitution in institutions and buildings,” they added.
Related News:
“We believe that sex workers have to respect the government’s measures as well, and are therefore not asking for an exemption,” Daan Bauwens of UTSOPI, a union of sex workers in Belgium, told Bruzz.
“At the same time, this is a very difficult time for sex workers. They have nothing to fall back on, and so they take to the streets, simply to survive. We ask the federal and regional governments for support measures for sex workers,” Bauwens said.
“Many problems, which have been going on for years, are surfacing because of the coronavirus crisis. We understand that the residents of the Alhambra district are worried about their health, but we are not happy with the image they paint of the sex workers as spreaders of disease,” he added.
Thursday, 19 March 2020
In the North Quarter, the brothels were closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Credit: Belga
The police have closed three hotels in Brussels after sex workers in the area ignored the government measures instructing people to stay inside to the further spread of the new coronavirus (Covid-19).
On Wednesday morning, the police closed ‘Studio 2000’, ‘Studio Europe’ and ‘5th Avenue’, three hotels in Brussels Alhambra district known for prostitution until 3 April, following repeated complaints from local residents. “We still saw prostitutes on the streets soliciting, all while the government is calling on the whole population to stay inside,” said Jan Leerman of the Alhambra neighbourhood committee to Het Nieuwsblad.
“In the North Quarter, the brothels were closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, but in our district, prostitutes continued soliciting as if nothing had changed,” Leerman said. “We do not think it is normal for a neighbourhood committee to have to report these problems, which can harm public health,” he added.
“The closure is part of an ordinance that Brussels’ mayor Philippe Close took on Tuesday, on the prohibition of prostitution in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus,” Maïthe Van Rampelbergh, Close’s spokesperson, told Het Laatste Nieuws. “This concerns both prostitution on the street and prostitution in institutions and buildings,” they added.
Related News:
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Coronavirus: Brussels hospital calls for donations to buy life-saving ventilators
Museums open their doors to virtual visitors
“We believe that sex workers have to respect the government’s measures as well, and are therefore not asking for an exemption,” Daan Bauwens of UTSOPI, a union of sex workers in Belgium, told Bruzz.
“At the same time, this is a very difficult time for sex workers. They have nothing to fall back on, and so they take to the streets, simply to survive. We ask the federal and regional governments for support measures for sex workers,” Bauwens said.
“Many problems, which have been going on for years, are surfacing because of the coronavirus crisis. We understand that the residents of the Alhambra district are worried about their health, but we are not happy with the image they paint of the sex workers as spreaders of disease,” he added.
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Europe's sex workers face ruin as brothels shut amid coronavirus fears
AP
BERLIN – It is 7 p.m. on a Friday night, a time when Aurel Johannes Marx’s three-room brothel on the edge of Berlin would normally be preparing for its first customers. Sex for sale has long been a staple part of the German capital’s freewheeling nightlife. But amid concerns over the new coronavirus, even the world’s supposedly oldest profession is suffering a sudden slump.
At the “Lankwitzer 7” brothel, with its soft red light and bawdy paintings on the wall, disinfectant dispensers had been installed next to the washbasins. Marx said he ordered staff to hot-wash all towels and sheets, and open the windows more often to let the warm, sticky air escape.
Still, customers just weren’t showing up anymore.
“Over the past week, business has gone down by 50 percent,” Marx said, blaming the decline on the general drop in nightlife that has occurred since the virus arrived in Berlin.
By Saturday, authorities had pulled the plug entirely, ordering the temporary closure of all entertainment venues, including brothels. The city has registered 332 confirmed cases of COVID-19 so far. Several dozen infections have been traced to bars and clubs.
RELATED STORIES
“There are those who are withdrawing from the business entirely at the moment for safety reasons,” Bleier Wilp said. Others are requiring that customers disinfect themselves, she added — a measure that medical experts say is unlikely to effectively stop the spread of the virus during close physical contact.
For most people the virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. But for some, especially older adults and those with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.
The vast majority of those who are infected recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.
It wasn’t clear how the closure of brothels would affect independent sex workers, and some have come under criticism for suggesting they will continue working.
Salome Balthus, a sex worker in Berlin, said that most of her colleagues would prefer to stay at home.
“But they know that nobody is going to compensate them for loss of income,” she said on Twitter. “90 percent of all dates are being canceled anyway. As always, we’re left to fend for ourselves.”
“Many of us will face housing problems in three months at the latest,” she added. “In which home should we stay then?”
Unlike regular employees, most sex workers won’t benefit directly from the half-trillion-euro package of loans the German government is making available to companies facing ruin because of the coronavirus outbreak.
“Sex workers are usually self-employed, not employees,” said Bleier Wilp. “That means they bear all the risks themselves”
Some sex workers may be able to rely on savings for several weeks, she said. “But it becomes more difficult if the crisis lasts for longer. Then many — particularly those who do it full time — may have to seek help.”
Bleier Wilp said a provision in Germany’s law on infectious disease protection might allow self-employed sex workers to apply for compensation.
In the Netherlands, Amsterdam’s famed red-light district was similarly hard hit after the government on Sunday night ordered the closure of schools, bars and restaurants for three weeks and made a point of mentioning that sex clubs also were affected.
By Sunday night, the normally packed canal-side streets and narrow, cobbled alleys that are normally a tourist magnet were largely deserted. On Monday, the windows where scantily clad sex workers pose to attract customers were largely empty. Some had signs taped to the glass saying: “The office is closed” due to the coronavirus restrictions.
“There are almost no clients because there are no people on the street even. So the brothel owners decided to close down,” an Amsterdam sex worker who goes by the pseudonym Foxxy Angel, said in a telephone interview.
Angel said she had already spent her savings when she couldn’t work for three weeks because she had a regular flu.
“I’m at the end of my money now, so I’m coming up with different things to make money,” she said. “I’m going to go back on (web) camming and selling porn online.”
Some sex workers would resort to going on paid dates “which you normally don’t do, or go on car dates,” she said, but added that this didn’t feel as safe as the tightly regulated red-light district.
Amsterdam’s Prostitution Information Center, which normally offers tours and provides information, has established an emergency fund for sex workers in financial trouble. It is aiming to raise €6,000 ($6,590) and will disburse €40 each to people who apply, to cover basics such as shopping, medicines and phone credits.
Before the closure, Berlin brothel owner Marx acknowledged that the women working at his establishment were hurting financially, though there was no suggestion he might make up the shortfall.
“Everybody wants more money, not less. But that’s the situation at the moment — it’s developing rapidly,” he said. “I can’t do anything to change that.
“At some point it will be over, and when it’s over things will work out again,” he added.
AP
- MAR 19, 2020
ARTICLE HISTORY - SHARE
BERLIN – It is 7 p.m. on a Friday night, a time when Aurel Johannes Marx’s three-room brothel on the edge of Berlin would normally be preparing for its first customers. Sex for sale has long been a staple part of the German capital’s freewheeling nightlife. But amid concerns over the new coronavirus, even the world’s supposedly oldest profession is suffering a sudden slump.
At the “Lankwitzer 7” brothel, with its soft red light and bawdy paintings on the wall, disinfectant dispensers had been installed next to the washbasins. Marx said he ordered staff to hot-wash all towels and sheets, and open the windows more often to let the warm, sticky air escape.
Still, customers just weren’t showing up anymore.
“Over the past week, business has gone down by 50 percent,” Marx said, blaming the decline on the general drop in nightlife that has occurred since the virus arrived in Berlin.
By Saturday, authorities had pulled the plug entirely, ordering the temporary closure of all entertainment venues, including brothels. The city has registered 332 confirmed cases of COVID-19 so far. Several dozen infections have been traced to bars and clubs.
RELATED STORIES
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- Iraq faces calamity as oil prices crash amid protests and coronavirus crisis
“There are those who are withdrawing from the business entirely at the moment for safety reasons,” Bleier Wilp said. Others are requiring that customers disinfect themselves, she added — a measure that medical experts say is unlikely to effectively stop the spread of the virus during close physical contact.
For most people the virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. But for some, especially older adults and those with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.
The vast majority of those who are infected recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.
It wasn’t clear how the closure of brothels would affect independent sex workers, and some have come under criticism for suggesting they will continue working.
Salome Balthus, a sex worker in Berlin, said that most of her colleagues would prefer to stay at home.
“But they know that nobody is going to compensate them for loss of income,” she said on Twitter. “90 percent of all dates are being canceled anyway. As always, we’re left to fend for ourselves.”
“Many of us will face housing problems in three months at the latest,” she added. “In which home should we stay then?”
Unlike regular employees, most sex workers won’t benefit directly from the half-trillion-euro package of loans the German government is making available to companies facing ruin because of the coronavirus outbreak.
“Sex workers are usually self-employed, not employees,” said Bleier Wilp. “That means they bear all the risks themselves”
Some sex workers may be able to rely on savings for several weeks, she said. “But it becomes more difficult if the crisis lasts for longer. Then many — particularly those who do it full time — may have to seek help.”
Bleier Wilp said a provision in Germany’s law on infectious disease protection might allow self-employed sex workers to apply for compensation.
In the Netherlands, Amsterdam’s famed red-light district was similarly hard hit after the government on Sunday night ordered the closure of schools, bars and restaurants for three weeks and made a point of mentioning that sex clubs also were affected.
By Sunday night, the normally packed canal-side streets and narrow, cobbled alleys that are normally a tourist magnet were largely deserted. On Monday, the windows where scantily clad sex workers pose to attract customers were largely empty. Some had signs taped to the glass saying: “The office is closed” due to the coronavirus restrictions.
“There are almost no clients because there are no people on the street even. So the brothel owners decided to close down,” an Amsterdam sex worker who goes by the pseudonym Foxxy Angel, said in a telephone interview.
Angel said she had already spent her savings when she couldn’t work for three weeks because she had a regular flu.
“I’m at the end of my money now, so I’m coming up with different things to make money,” she said. “I’m going to go back on (web) camming and selling porn online.”
Some sex workers would resort to going on paid dates “which you normally don’t do, or go on car dates,” she said, but added that this didn’t feel as safe as the tightly regulated red-light district.
Amsterdam’s Prostitution Information Center, which normally offers tours and provides information, has established an emergency fund for sex workers in financial trouble. It is aiming to raise €6,000 ($6,590) and will disburse €40 each to people who apply, to cover basics such as shopping, medicines and phone credits.
Before the closure, Berlin brothel owner Marx acknowledged that the women working at his establishment were hurting financially, though there was no suggestion he might make up the shortfall.
“Everybody wants more money, not less. But that’s the situation at the moment — it’s developing rapidly,” he said. “I can’t do anything to change that.
“At some point it will be over, and when it’s over things will work out again,” he added.
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