Samenvatting

In this article, based on a case study in three Dutch municipalities (Groningen, Tilburg and Zwolle) , the author analyzes in a structured manner what municipalities are doing to improve the social position of sex workers, and what the role of legislation and regulations is in this regard. Central to this are the four resources that are associated with the concept of social position and its improvement: social capital, cultural capital, economic capital and personal capital. Municipal activities that contribute to improving the social position of sex workers in that area are explained for each resource. This is followed by an exploration of the role of legislation and regulations in improving the position of sex workers, in which the author studies the extent to which ‘hard’ side of the policy – the legislation and regulations – is congruent with the ‘soft’ side of the policy – that part of the sex work policy that is not shaped by legislation and regulations, such as the financing of various aid organizations and social initiatives. This makes it clear that legislation and regulations not only contribute to improving the position of sex workers, they also work against them.