Last Monday we went to the Red Light District. You might wonder what we were doing there, so keep on reading!
The past weeks we have visited some interesting organizations, as you could also read in Seth’s previous blog. Last Monday we went to Amsterdam with all the second year Public Health students, and more specifically to the Red Light District. You might wonder what we were doing there, so keep on reading!
We met our lecturer at Amsterdam Central Station, and it was only a ten minute walk to the Red Light District. We went to the Prostitute Information Center (PIC) which is a foundation set up by Mariska Majoor. Mariska is a former prostitute and has set up an information center where other prostitutes can go to, but she also provides information for students like us. The center is decorated like a little museum, with all sorts of clothes, newspaper articles, and even a real bed to show what such a room looks like. It was very interesting to hear her side of the story and she showed us that not every prostitute is working in this business because she is forced to do so, or was a victim of human trafficking. Some women just see it as their job, and other do it because they see no other way to survive.
The second place we visited in this area of Amsterdam was the Condomerie, the world’s first condom specialty shop. It was fun to see how many different sort and sizes of condoms there are, and some even looked like little works of art! We only stayed in the shop for a few minutes, and afterwards we all got a free glow in the dark condom.
The last organization that we visited was Schorer Stichting, which is an institute that offers lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgenders knowledge and facilities with which they can improve their health and well-being. We received a nice presentation from Bauko Bakker about the projects that they run, which are especially focused on the ‘men who have sex with men’ (MSM) target group. We had already met him once during the 6th Ethnic Minorities Conference and it was nice to talk to him again. Some of us are even thinking about an internship at this organization, but that is still in a very early phase…
Well enough for now, have a nice week!
Liza