A visit to an illegal prostitute will become a punishable offence, according to Dutch cabinet documents quoted by the daily newspaper, Trouw.

Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin and Interior Minister Guusje ter Horst want to introduce a national register of prostitutes. Whoever is not on that list and still working as a prostitute, whether male or female, will be liable to prosecution. Their clients, too, will be committing a punishable offence.

The cabinet proposal is aimed at eliminating abuse in the prostitution sector. An earlier measure in 2000 making brothels legal and subject to strict regulation proved only partially effective in improving working conditions for prostitutes.

Prostitution in the Netherlands  (ANP Photo)