Here’s one more reason to move to the Netherlands: you can now pay for driving lessons with sex. Forget Apple Pay, forget Google Wallet. Ministers in the country are actively defending the right of driving instructors to offer lessons in return for sex to their clients as one of the payment options.
The Law Allows Driving Lessons in Exchange For Sex So Long As Both Parties Are Over 18
This country has no need for electronic payment services like Apple Pay, which the US can use to make retail purchases or buy coffee. They are using a much more ancient form of payment.
The Netherlands are notorious for having more liberal laws than virtually any other developed country. Home of the famous Amsterdam Red Light District, this country is no stranger to the oldest profession in the book. This development has brought a lot of mixed responses from the public and other government officials, because despite the fact that it could be considered ‘fair trade’, there are some details that need to be tuned out first.
‘Ride for Ride’ Policy is 100% Legal in the Netherlands
A ‘ride for ride’ policy has been passed as undesirable but completely legal. Some political figures, like conservative Christian Union Party’s Gert-Jan Segers, believe it should be banned. His attempt to change the law was futile, and parliament opposed it.
Because prostitution is completely legal in the Netherlands, to the extent where prostitutes need to declare their profession and income to pay taxes, this is hardly a surprise. It’d be completely safe for these escorts to accept ‘ride for ride’ terms, but not everyone who would go through with a trade like this would have an escort license. This is what Segers is arguing, and he has a fair point.
Screw Apple Pay and Google Wallet!
On the side of the defense, Melanie Schultz van Haegen, Transport Minister, said it was completely lawful. Justice Minister Ard van der Steur also jumped to defend the law. Both of them released a letter on why the law was completely acceptable. They say that the point of the law isn’t to offer sex for money, but offering a service in exchange for another service. If this was a matter of sex for money, it would be no different than prostitution.
Google is Blowing Up With Sex for Driving Lessons Searches
Naturally, searches for ‘ride for ride’ have skyrocketed since the debate broke out. There is still a lot of confusion surrounding the topic since both sides of the argument have a solid point.
There Are A Lot of Things About This Law that Need to Be Straightened Out
On the one hand, offering sex in exchange for a driving lesson is already iffy. The law should state that on top of both parties being over age, there must be solid consent on both sides of the trade. In addition, this should specify whether or not the person giving sexual favors has an escort license. It would be perfectly fair for an escort to accept this kind of payment, but not just anyone.
In the end, this is an issue of preference. The government is only defending the right for driving instructors to request this trade instead of financial payment or electronic payment through tools like Google Wallet or Apple Pay. There are more things to this discussion.
Has the Netherlands Government Been Watching Too Much Game of Thrones?
Would this law be implemented in other countries? Most likely, no. This would be very unbeneficial to a lot of countries, especially those with high rates of rape for all genders. The Netherlands is probably the only nation in the world that can pull this off in a civilized way, but there is a chance that this could backfire.
In a way, this is like a blast from the past. While other companies like Starbucks and KFC are taking payment from iPhones through Apple Pay, the Netherlands are stuck in a more primitive time. There was once a time when sex could become payment for all sorts of things. This is a step backward and also a step forward. Though there are a lot of details to be refined, this could kickstart a trend. If this works well, sex could replace currency for a lot of services. It could be a win-win situation in a lot of ways.
