DUTCH PARLIAMENT VOTES TO LIFT BROTHEL BAN

AMSTERDAM, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The Dutch parliament voted on Tuesday to
legalise brothels, swayed by arguments that proper regulation of the sex
industry would help reduce trafficking in women, exploitation of minors and
drugs crime.

Only the opposition Christian Democrats and three small religious parties
came out against the draft law, which now passes to the upper house for
rubber stamping.

If the reform becomes law, from January 1 next year an estimated 2,000
brothels will be treated exactly the same way as any other business. They
will be required to register their workers, meet minimum safety standards
and conditions.

Labour Prime Minister Wim Kok's coalition government argues that an end to
the ban on brothels will bring myriad social benefits, making it difficult
for criminals to use illicit sex clubs as a cover and for illegal
immigrants to find work.

Under existing legislation, prostitution is legal but brothels are not,
although they are tolerated in many cities.

According to the cabinet, lifting the ban on brothels will strip from the
world's oldest profession the evils of drugs crime, trafficking in women
and smuggling of firearms.

The prison sentence for exploiting minors will be raised to six years from
one. Deputies also pushed through an amendment to allow the police to
prosecute anyone found having sex with girls under the age of 17 or boys
under the age of 16.

Prostitutes and sex club owners gave a mixed reaction to the proposals. It
was not immediately clear whether prostitutes in Amsterdam's notorious red
light district would abandon their street windows for the comfort of a
brothel existence.

"We will have to wait and see how this pans out. My initial reaction is
that are far too many rules," a voluntary worker at an advice centre for
prostitutes told Reuters.

One Amsterdam prostitute sensed an imminent clampdown by the tax authorities.

Brothel keepers welcomed official recognition of their business but were
suspicious that the government would begin a drive against foreign workers
under the guise of liberalisation. It has been estimated that 40 percent of
prostitutes are illegal immigrants from outside the EU.