The clients of prostitutes who are found to be under the age of 21 risk a year in jail or €20,000 fine, if draft legislation sent to parliament by justice minister Ivo Opstelten becomes law, the NRC reports.

It is up to clients themselves to make sure the prostitute is over the age of 21, Opstelten is quoted as saying.

‘I am leaving it to the prostitute and the customer to find a practical solution for this,’ he said. ‘For example, the prostitute could show the client her passport in such a way that only her photograph and date of birth is visible.’

The new proposal replaces Opstelten’s earlier plans to introduce an official  prostitution register, which was rejected by the senate last year.

Introducing a minimum age for prostitution will give local councils greater powers to check up on sex workers who officials suspect may be too young. They can also be fined, but this will not be the case if they have been forced into prostitution, Opstelten said.