SHARE
COPY LINK

SEX

Italian town makes sex workers wear hi-vis vests

Prostitutes are known for their skimpy attire, usually provocative high heels and short skirts. But authorities of a town near Milan have told sex workers they must wear high-visibility vests so that motorists can see them at night.

Italian town makes sex workers wear hi-vis vests
Sex workers in a town near Milan must now wear high-visibility vests. Photo: LinaSlutsky

The decree, which includes a ban on miniskirts, was brought in by authorities in Spino d’Adda, a town south of Milan, Il Messaggero reported.

Those caught flouting the rule will face a fine of up to €500.

In a move aimed at increasing their safety, deputy mayor Luciano Sinigaglia said the sex workers should be treated the same as road workers, and should be obliged to wear clothes that make them more visible.

The decree, which will take effect in September, comes just months after authorities in San Genesio, a town near the northern city of Bolzano, ordered sex workers to wear reflective vests and trousers. 

However, the town was slightly more careful with its choice of words, saying the decree affected all those “who walked or stopped” at night on a particular stretch of road outside the town.

It was also seen as a tactic to rid San Genesio of prostitutes all together.
 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

PROSTITUTION

Spain’s top court reinstates first sex workers’ union

Spanish sex workers have the right to form their own union, the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, overturning an earlier court decision ordering the dissolution of Spain's first such labour organisation.

Spain's top court reinstates first sex workers' union
Photo: Oscar del Pozo/AFP

Known as OTRAS (or “the Sex Workers’ Organisation”), the union was discretely set up in August 2018 but was closed three months later by order of the National Court following an appeal by the government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

But following an appeal, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of OTRAS, saying that its statutes, which had triggered the initial legal challenge, were “in line with the law” and that sex workers “have the fundamental right to freedom of association and the right to form a union”.

In its November 2018 ruling, the National Court had argued that allowing the union to exist amounted to “recognising the act of procurement as lawful”.

READ MORE:

Contacted by AFP, the union did not wish to comment.

When it was founded, OTRAS received the green light from the labour ministry and its statutes were publicly registered in the official gazette the day before the government went into a summer recess.

But three weeks later, the government — which portrays itself as “feminist and in favour of the abolition of prostitution” according to Sanchez’s Twitter feed at the time — started legal moves against it.

In Spain, prostitution is neither legal nor illegal but it is tolerated.

Although it is not recognised as employment, there is a large number of licensed brothels throughout the country.

READ ALSO: 

SHOW COMMENTS