Prostitution in Belgium is legal but certain related activities such as soliciting and pimping are illegal. Most Belgian cities have a red-light district , often with window prostitution. A report commissioned by the National Bank of Belgium , [7] estimated a turnover of million Euro in Prior to prostitution was regulated by the municipalities, [2] with mandatory registration and medical checks. Prostitution and paying for sexual services were not prohibited in the legislation, but Article added the following offences: [2].
The Criminal Law Reform Act made some modification to the existing laws: [2] [4]. In the Act was amended to give greater power against human trafficking, including an increase in maximum sentences. There have been a number of draft bills proposing changes to the existing prostitution laws. Proposals from the pro-prostitution camp have included licensing brothels and giving special status within the law to sex-workers.
The anti-prostitution lobby proposals have included the banning of windows and criminalisation of paying for sexual services Nordic Model. As the legislature has been split over its views, none of the bills have succeeded. Municipalities can impose local regulation on public order or morality grounds. Generally, these powers were little used until the s, most preferring an "unregulated tolerance" approach. In the s the municipalities took different approaches to regulation.
Some, such as Liege and Ghent , banned window prostitution [11] or moved it out of its traditional locations in the city centres.
Prostitution was known to exist in what is now Belgium since the middle ages. During the French regime β prostitutes were required to have mandatory health checks in hospitals. Over 40 minors, mainly English girls, were found to be working in brothels after being lured to Brussels [15] with promises of work in bars and nightclubs. During WW1 , the occupying Germans took over control of prostitution. In an attempt to prevent the spread of STIs amongst their troops, the trade was strictly regulated and girls forced to undergo regular health checks.
