Presenting the fourth periodic reports on the Netherlands and Aruba, representatives of the member Dutch delegation and two-member Aruban delegation stressed that prostitution was not considered a normal profession in the Netherlands. Employment offices did not help women get jobs in brothels. On the contrary, job training and counselling programmes run by the Government and non-governmental organizations aimed to help prostitutes leave the sex industry.
Legalized prostitution meant better health-care services for sex workers and increased protection against unsafe work conditions, human trafficking and violence. The lifting of that ban had received broad support from the Dutch Parliament, citizens and non-governmental organizations.
But Committee members questioned the validity of recent studies in the Netherlands that showed prostitution was a profession of choice and that obstacles to leaving the sex trade were less than previously feared. They expressed concern that 80 per cent of sex workers were foreign women, while 20 per cent were of Dutch origin, noting that foreigners often lacked the language, education and technical skills to compete for jobs in the traditional labour market.
On other questions, some experts voiced their dismay that a country report had not been prepared on the Netherlands Antilles and that the Dutch Civil Code was not applicable there. They also questioned the Dutch delegation on such concerns as whether there was free legal aid as well as police protection for victims of domestic violence, including for migrant women regardless of their legal status.
The delegation shed light on that matter, noting that, according to the biennial Emancipation Monitor and police reports, more than 40 per cent of the Dutch population -— mostly women -- had experienced some level of domestic violence in their lifetime. A bill before Parliament would allow police to remove domestic violence perpetrators from the homes they shared with their victims for 10 days. The Public Prosecutor had issued guidelines for apprehending and interrogating suspects.
