Amsterdam's sex workers face financial stress as the pandemic continues
ABC News
Although business was slow in October compared to years past, some sex workers at the time seemed optimistic about the end of the pandemic.
At first glance, a Saturday night in October may have looked like a pre-pandemic evening in Amsterdam’s famous red-light district.
Couples, tourists, and bachelor and bachelorette parties from all over the world browsed the bright posters of near-naked sex workers. Tall colonial-style brothel windows, laced with red-and-pink neon lights, illuminated the neighborhood. The rainy and windy weather had little impact on the massive crowd.
Behind each window, sex workers in lingerie used different techniques to grab potential clients’ attention. Some tapped the glass, others winked and blew kisses, and a few sat on barstools and scrolled through their phones.
“In Amsterdam, prostitution is number one,” Amanda, a sex worker who declined to use her real name, told ABC News at the time.