Amsterdam tackles forced prostitution
Forced prostitution is a form of human trafficking and an extremely serious crime. In an attempt to combat the problem, the City of Amsterdam relaunched the ‘Appearances Can Be Deceptive’ (‘Schijn Bedriegt’) campaign on Wednesday, 8 December 2010.
Appearances Can Be Deceptive campaign
The campaign identifies signs of forced prostitution and trafficking and encourages fellow sex workers, visitors, neighbours and passers-by to report any suspect activity to the police or via the Report Crime Anonymously service. ‘Appearances Can Be Deceptive’ is the result of two earlier campaigns in 2006 and 2008.
High visibility
Posters and flyers have been distributed to various organisations including businesses and public health organisations (GGD) in the immediate vicinity of Red Light District, the Singel and the Ruysdaelkade. In addition, a provocative banner is displayed on high-traffic Dutch websites which leads to the campaign website.
A short animated film confronts the viewer with signs of forced prostitution, such as if a prostitute appears anxious, bears traces of violence or is doing the job reluctantly.
The Amsterdam approach
The campaign is part of a large-scale community approach to tackle human trafficking. Measures and actions are urgently required because, since the opening of the Amsterdam Trafficking Coordination Centre in in 2007, 130 victims are cared for and supervised every year in the city.
In addition, the ‘Meisa Spirit’ organisation cares for an additional 20 underage victims. In 2010, the Ministry of Justice opened the Relief Centre for Victims of Human Trafficking (Categoraal Opvang Slachtoffers Mensenhandel) in the capital. Amsterdam was chosen because of its expertise in human trafficking and an additional 80 victims of human trafficking are cared for at the centre.
For more information, visit the Report Crime Anonymously website or the Human Trafficking Campaign website (Dutch).
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