It could soon be the end for Amsterdam's infamous Red Light District if parliamentarians in the Netherlands have their way.
The Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), a junior partner in the Netherlands government, has revived efforts to ban prostitution.
The call is being led by CDA member Anne Kuik, who told AD newspaper that paid sex leaves women vulnerable and turns them into a "product".
She said that prostitutes were "treated unequally" in society and that her proposals were "about emancipation and protecting women in a vulnerable position".
"Prostitution by definition means inequality," she said.
"Most prostitutes would not actually want to have sex with the man in front of them. But it still happens, because it is paid.
"So consent is bought, the woman is a product. That is no longer possible in these modern times."
Kuik said that 95 per cent of prostitutes working in Amsterdam's Red Light District were from "poor areas in Eastern Europe".
"If you ask people on the street if they would like their daughter to work in prostitution, everyone will say no. But we do let young women from poor parts of Europe do this work. That is hypocritical," she said.
