AMSTERDAM — The Dutch government plans to continue investigating the local porn industry in the Netherlands, following a series of abuse allegations involving photographer and self-styled “model scout” Daniël van der W.
According to a June report by Dutch news source De Volkskrant, Van der W. “recruited hundreds of women, mainly from the Czech Republic, for the production of porn and forced prostitution over a period of twenty years.” De Volkskrant characterized the allegations against Van der W. as “exploitation” and “trafficking.”
The same outlet reported this week that in 2023, the government conducted an investigation into alleged “abuses in the porn world,” which concluded with no official charges being brought.
Opposition MP Harmen Krul lambasted the government, decrying what he termed the “disgusting incompatibility” between the 2023 investigation and the June report.
“It has now become apparent that such abuses also occur in the Dutch environment,” Krul said, “while the minister had previously vehemently denied this.”
Minister of Justice David van Weel said he will instruct the WODC, his agency’s research and data center, to conduct a more in-depth investigation into possible abuses.
The investigation into the local adult industry comes amid a tightening of sex-work laws in the country, with the new cabinet favoring raising the age for legal prostitution from 18 to 21.
