Thousands of People Call on Banning Prostitution in Spain
The door on a well-to-do street in central Barcelona appears much like any other door in the city. But not all people know the brothel behind this door, a part of Spain’s booming sex industry.
What happens there is now under threat as thousands of people demonstrated calling prostitution ban in Spain last Saturday, May 29, 2022.
The protesters, mostly women, marched down Madrid's Gran Vía shopping street, with many carrying posters and placards; some read: “We women are not commodities,” or “Prostitution is not a job,” and some called for stopping sexual exploitation.
Prostitution Ban
About 7000 protesters led by 175 groups demonstrated in Madrid's Gran Vía shopping street last Saturday calling for a prostitution ban in Spain. The rally came after the parliament’s approval of a bill tightening the criminal law on sexual offenses on Thursday, May 26, 2022.
Activists called for taking more steps other than the draft, which requires consent from all involved in sexual acts, and a ban on advertising prostitution, but this still needs the approval of the Senate.
The Spanish newspaper, EL PAÍS, quoted Laura Rivas, a female spokeswoman for the feminist movement in Madrid: “The government's measures are a corrective task that does not solve the basic problem.”
What is needed is a “comprehensive response that leads to the abolition of prostitution,” she said.
Pilar, one of the activists of the rally, told the Europa Press news agency that “prostitution is the slavery of the 21st century.”
‘The Brothel of Europe’
Sounding very much like a human rights reformer, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez promised to ban prostitution in Spain, in November 2021.
El País quoted him saying: “We will move forward abolishing the prostitution that enslaves women. However, vows to ban prostitution have upset many at home and abroad. Conxa Borrell, secretary-general of OTRAS, the only union in Spain representing sex workers, told Politico in the same period that “when something is prohibited, mafias emerge.” A spokesperson for the European Sex Workers’ Rights Alliance, an organization that represents more than 100 groups working with sex workers, criticized the decision of the prime minister by saying: “COVID-19 has dramatically impacted sex workers all over the world, including in Spain, where many sex workers face destitution and homelessness, urging Sánchez “to meet representatives of sex workers communities, discuss their needs, and develop joint programs and policies that would protect them” instead of banning their trade.
Despite the demonstration, few would disagree that prostitution in Spain needs to be banned. According to The Washington Post, Spain has “made a name for itself as the brothel of Europe” referring that the trade revenue stands at $26.5 billion a year, and more than 300,000 people are working in the industry. The Washington Post pointed out that Spain’s unusual procedure to decriminalize prostitution might come as a reason behind this growth. Madrid allowed prostitution in 1995, however, the newly legalized sex trade was not regulated by the government like in other European countries.
“One notable exception is a ban on ‘pimping,’ or someone working as a booker between a sex worker and a client. But it is almost meaningless since nightclubs effectively function as brothels by ‘renting’ rooms to sex workers whose labor the government does not recognize as legitimate,” according to Foreign Policy.
Legal and Not
Prostitution represents the oldest job in the world and has, for quite a long time now, been regarded as a hateful and fallen choice of work. Despite bans and their legal status, this kind of work exists and will continue to exist, because of poverty. Some countries are completely banning the practice, while others have tried regulating prostitution and providing sex workers with health and social benefits. The countries, where prostitution is legal, are Greece, Germany, New Zealand, France, and Canada.
However, it remains illegal in most of the ex-communist countries of Eastern Europe. In Spain, “Groups such as Esclavitud XXI [Slavery XXI], an organization devoted to exposing human trafficking, would like to see the country adopt some version of the so-called Nordic model, an abolitionist framework for prostitution that has been implemented in countries like Sweden and France,” according to Foreign Policy.
According to the Nordic model, it is “illegal to purchase sex but not to sell one’s body for sexual purposes.”
Brothels, pimping, and advertising are also banned. The aim is to end the demand for prostitution by disciplining those who pay for sex rather than those who get paid for having sex, “thereby minimizing harm to an already vulnerable population,” according to the same source.
