From Picture Book to Prison

This story is set in nineteenth-century Amsterdam. We follow the offenses of 'public women', otherwise known as prostitutes. In those days, prostitution was seen as un-christian and therefore reprehensible and lewd. Nevertheless, the city was rife with brothels and prostitutes. What did the lives of these women look like? What were the dangers of a profession that was so disapproved of socially? This story is part of the research project PROSPECT: The Spectacle of Prostitution, supervised by Marion Pluskota and Fresco Sam-Sin. Together we follow the women; from apprehension to registration and to incarceration.