No to a Villa Tinto in Brussels – Open Letter

In recent days, the press has widely reported on a recent approach made by an Antwerp real estate developer to the Schaerbeek municipal authorities with a view to establishing a “Villa Tinto II” on Rue d’Aarschot.

“Villa Tinto” is the name of the now-famous high-tech brothel located in the center of the triangle formed by the three streets where prostitution is authorized in Antwerp. A large brick-and-window complex with bright red walls and bluish lighting, Villa Tinto, which also houses a police outpost, is equipped with an advanced security system and rents its windows weekly to prostituted persons with legal residency.

Of course, this concept is likely to appeal to several Brussels mayors, eager both to reduce the visibility of prostitution and to satisfy residents annoyed by it. Where the collection of various taxes—on short-stay hotels, windows, “hostesses”—and increased police inspections have proven relatively ineffective, the Villa Tinto project might seem, at first glance, to offer a solution to a problematic situation.

But only at first glance, because the questions raised by this project are of a completely different and far more worrying nature.

No security imperative can ever justify forcing the most precarious prostituted persons—those without legal residency, most under the control of human trafficking networks—into clandestinity, or compelling independent workers to enter a “sex factory,” let alone removing pimping from the penal code to legitimize it as a commercial industry.

For all of us, the dignity of the body is non-negotiable, regardless of the excuses or justifications offered by anyone. Prostitution is not, and will never be, “just another job.”

However, the economic pressures of life can be severe and become inextricable traps. Therefore, it is not a question of judging those who engage in prostitution, whether voluntarily or out of necessity. But we can help them protect themselves, preserve their health, maintain or regain their dignity, and, if they wish, change paths whenever they are ready.

We must also avoid normalizing prostitution by sending signals to clients through infrastructures like this, which effectively turn what might have been moral hesitation into a commercialized transaction for the consumption of another person’s body.

For nearly ten years, notably through the initiative of the Human Rights League, many voices have spoken out against both the exploitation and professionalization of prostitution: politicians, academics, associations, magistrates, police, current and former prostituted persons, journalists…

Prostitution concerns us all more than it appears because it reflects our relationship with money, sexuality, and power; it mirrors the dynamics between men and women in society. Instead of reassuring ourselves with superficial hygienist and security measures, we must confront the issue at its root.

It is a priority to address the realities reported by field workers and respond politically: implement fiscal and social protection measures that meet some individuals’ needs; remove inappropriate measures such as soliciting laws or bans on group prostitution; end systematic registration; devote more resources to prevention and support; and allow those who wish to leave prostitution to do so at the moment they feel ready.

In other words, the right to engage in prostitution is meaningful only if the right not to engage in prostitution is equally guaranteed.

(1) Le Nid is a grassroots association whose mission is to meet, welcome, support, and provide psycho-medical-social follow-up for people involved in prostitution. Le Nid also provides information to youth, social professionals, and the general public.

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https://www.lesoir.be/art/non-a-une-villa-tinto-a-bruxelles_t-20060415-0054N3.html