Described as the ‘world’s oldest’ sex workers, twin sisters have shared insights into how their family responded to their career choices.
Louise and Martine Fokkens have spent decades working as window sex workers in Amsterdam’s red-light district. However, Louise has since retired from the profession due to arthritis, which made it difficult for her to perform sexual positions.
Now aged 83, the sisters may not match the typical image of a ‘window sex worker’.
Their lives were documented in the film Meet the Fokkens, which provides a detailed look into their experiences in the sex industry.
In 2000, Amsterdam legalized sex work with the goal of better regulating the industry and safeguarding sex workers. However, the effectiveness of this decision remains a subject of debate.
The twins recounted their mother’s reaction upon discovering their means of earning a living.
Louise recounted to The Guardian: “Our mother drove down to the canal where we were working on the street and shouted: ‘I see you! Your father is coming’.
“She hit me. I was very embarrassed for my parents.”
Sadly, this was not the only instance of aggressive responses from family members.
Louise shared an experience from her early 20s when her husband coerced her into sex work.
“I was beaten on to the streets by my husband in my early 20s,” she said.
“He told me unless I earned money for him he would leave me, and I had children and loved him, so I had to do it.”
The sisters worked as ‘window girls’, renting work spaces with street-facing windows for potential clients to view them.
Despite the 2000 legalization intended to improve work conditions, Martine feels it hasn’t been beneficial.
“There is no point working just for tax,” she explained. “That is why the girls are working from the internet and from home – you are less likely to be spotted by the taxman.”
She continued: “The whole family used to live off your earnings and now the tax office comes up with crazy amounts you have to pay.
“It is better for the pimps and the foreigners, but not the Dutch girls.
“The vultures came in 2000. Organised criminals. They thought, ahah, it is legalized. Now we are OK.”