Prostitution in the Rue d'Aerschot is known to have existed before World War I. and
prostitutes visible In the 1990s, the area was controlled by
Albanian pimps. There was often violence between rival pimps and girls complained to the police that the pimps were abusing and exploiting them. There was a crackdown and the criminal networks were broken down. The area is now controlled by Romanian and Bulgarian pimps. Each window has a madam who controls the prostitutes that work there. The madam takes 50% of the prostitute's earnings. Madams were traditionally older Belgian prostitutes, but these have been replaced with mainly Bulgarian women who work for the pimps. This allows the pimps to stay out of the area and away from police attention. Often they remain in their home country. Although widely tolerated by police and local authorities, this neighbourhood has at times been a target of joint government and police efforts to track down
human trafficking operations, and have been mostly aimed at breaking up criminal networks that lure young women from
Central and
Eastern European countries with the promise of a better life in
Western Europe.
Non-profit associations also operate in the area, mainly women's groups providing support and counseling to prostitutes. ==See also==