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The announcement of the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, that he plans to abolish prostitution has been making waves, not just among ministers but within several feminist groups who fear criminalising the practice will only serve to push it further underground. After prostitution was decriminalised in Spain in 1995, the industry is reportedly worth 3.7 billion euros, with a 2011 UN report ranking Spain as the third largest sex industry in the world after Thailand and Puerto Rico.

 

Speaking at a three-day party conference in Valencia at the weekend, Mr Sánchez made the sensational claim that his government intends to pass a comprehensive law to effectively eliminate prostitution and fine clients caught paying for sex.

 

Several ministers have argued that a reform of the immigration law is an essential step towards outlawing prostitution, given that more than 70% of exploited women are believed to be living in Spain illegally. Equality sources have also stressed the need to protect the rights of all women by guaranteeing alternatives for victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation.

 

“That happens by guaranteeing their rights, being able to effectively access a job or a home, education or health,” according to the Government delegate against Gender Violence, Victoria Rosell.

 

Many politicians in Spain are remaining firmly on the fence and have refused to take a definitive stance on the prostitution debate until the legislation is prepared. The main opposition appears to be against the President’s inaction around what most believe to be the central issue, illegal immigration, along with his lack of clarity about the alternatives that will be offered to vulnerable women ordered out of the sex trade.

 

According to left-wing Basque nationalist party EH Bildu, it is one thing to not like the idea of prostitution, but quite another to label it as a crime.

 

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