Red Light District in Ljubljana: Between Initiative, Dialogue, and Local Responsibility

Initiative for Dialogue

The first article 'Red Light District in Ljubljana: Asking Janković for a Meeting' presents an initiative to open a dialogue on regulating the field of sex work in Ljubljana. The initiators call on Mayor Zoran Janković for a meeting to discuss possible regulation models that would improve safety, transparency, and reduce grey zones.

🔗 https://slovenskenovice.delo.si/novice/slovenija/rdeca-cetrt-v-ljubljani-jankovica-prosijo-za-sestanek

Political and Public Resistance

The second article 'In Janković's Ljubljana Against the Red Light District' continues the content and shows political and public resistance to the initiative. The discussion quickly polarizes, with moral and symbolic concerns prevailing, and less substantive consideration of the actual situation and existing challenges on the ground.

🔗 https://slovenskenovice.delo.si/novice/slovenija/v-jankovicevi-ljubljani-proti-rdeci-cetrti

Stance and Reflection

The purpose of the visit and talks was to put on the table the option of local regulation, where each municipality can regulate a certain economic activity with its decrees – similar to what it already does for hospitality. The proposed approach envisages that the municipality prohibits the performance of activities in residential areas, while allowing and regulating it in craft-business zones. Such an arrangement would reduce conflicts in residential environments and enable safer, more controlled working conditions.

Dignity and Safety

At the same time, the clear position is that we do not support models of humiliating display, such as windows in Amsterdam, as this means an insult to dignity and the female gender and deepens stigmatization. The Dobra Družba organization strives to raise the quality and safety of work, not for additional restriction or sensationalism. We advocate for orderly, clean, and discreet erotic accommodations that reduce risks and enable responsible management of the activity.

Žiga Sedevčič, President of the Council of Dobra Družba Organizations