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SPANISH LAW

Why Spain has decided not to ban pimping

The Spanish Parliament has rejected a draft bill by the ruling Socialists which proposed banning sexual procuring and toughening the country's prostitution laws. Why are both the left and the right against this sex work crackdown?

Why Spain has decided not to ban pimping
Between 45,000 and 120,000 women work as prostitutes in Spain, according to different estimates.  (Photo by OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP)

This is the second attempt by the Socialists to carry out this proposed bill, which was rejected by parties on both sides of the political spectrum.

Even the government’s junior coalition partner Sumar voted against the move, as well as the PP, ERC, Junts, PNV and EH Bildu.

The bill aimed to punish all types of pimping, essentially profiting from the procuring of prostitution of others.

Currently, only pimps (proxenetas or chulos in Spanish) that carry out intimidation and violence are punishable, but PM Sánchez’s party has argued that the current wording of Spain’s Penal Code has led to “total impunity for pimping”. 

The aim was to expand upon article 187 of the Penal Code to imprison anyone who “promotes, favours or facilitates” the prostitution of another person “for profit”, with sentences of 3 to 6 years as well as fines.

This would be extended to a further 24 months in prison if violence, intimidation or deception were used and penalties of two to four years if pimping does not involve violence, even with the consent of the sex worker.

In addition, the PSOE wanted to be able to punish third parties who earn money for renting out properties for the purpose of pimping and prostitution with two to four years in prison and fines.

The Socialists also wanted to add an article so that those who pay for sex have a criminal charge. Anyone who agrees to “the practice of acts of a sexual nature in exchange for money or another type of benefit” is punished with a fine”, the bill read. 

The majority of the political parties denounced the proposal arguing that it was an “electoral” initiative.

Gala Pin, the deputy of Sumar stressed that her party couldn’t vote in favour of a bill that she has called “quite tacky”. “It proposes absolutely no solution, no itinerary, no alternative measure, no economic proposal for labour support, absolutely nothing,” she argued.

A woman holds up a sign that demands the abolition of prostitution during a demonstration with the motto “The strength of women is the future of all” in Madrid in 2021. (Photo by OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP)

Other members of Sumar criticised the bill saying that it was incomplete and that it didn’t address the root of the problem. Many also believe it will criminalise sex workers place women who practice prostitution in situations of greater vulnerability, without being able to defend themselves.

The party led by Yolanda Díaz added that they were in favour of “persecuting coercive pimping” but saw “large gaps” in the PSOE law, which they do not consider comprehensive, because it does not address social and economic measures such as employability, housing or training. They don’t want to allow prostitution to be eradicated. 

READ ALSO: What’s the law on prostitution in Spain?

Sex worker María Nelly and spokesperson for Stop Abolition has requested that the government allow women to continue work in prostitution if it’s something they’ve chosen.

She argues that it doesn’t seem right that they are victimised or that their clients are seen as aggressors. Nelly also told Antena 3 that she does not approve of fines being issued to clients or to the places that provide them with safe spaces to carry out their sex work.

“The majority of girls who engage in prostitution do so freely and there are very few reports of pimping,” she stated on TV programme Espejo Público.

READ ALSO: Spain’s top court reinstates first sex workers’ union

This is now the seventh time that proposed changes to prostitution laws have been rejected in parliament. 

The last changes were proposed in June 2022 and aimed to further crack down on pimping and exploitation, and punish those purchasing sex, including harsher sentences if the victim is vulnerable or underage.

At the time, the PSOE said they would not make prostitution outright illegal, but rather the exploitative activities that surround it. 

Critics of tougher prostitution laws such as those of Nordic countries argue that they lead to greater secrecy surrounding sex work, more police persecution and deportations, as well as housing problems since it can be interpreted that any property, even the home of a woman who carries out prostitution, is used by a pimp for profit.

It’s worth noting as well that Spain is among the largest ‘consumer’ of prostitution in the world (3 in every 10 Spanish men have admitted to sleeping with a prostitute) and the industry represents as much as 0.35 percent of the country’s GDP: €4.2 billion a year. 

Between 45,000 and 120,000 women work as prostitutes in Spain, according to different estimates. 

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POLITICS

Spanish government begins proceedings to outlaw Franco Foundation

Spain's Ministry of Culture has opened legal proceedings to shut down the 'Fundación Francisco Franco', a group dedicated to the dictator who ruled Spain for almost forty years.

Spanish government begins proceedings to outlaw Franco Foundation

Spain’s Ministry of Culture has begun the process of outlawing the Fundación Francisco Franco because it fails to comply with the Democratic Memory Law, controversial legislation passed two years ago by the ruling Socialists (PSOE) to try and help Spain come to terms with its dictatorial past.

The foundation, which essentially promotes the legacy of former dictator General Francisco Franco, who ruled Spain from 1939 to 1975, was founded in 1976 and presents itself as a “cultural institution without political affiliation”. It also sells nationalist memorabilia and books.

Among many admiring articles on its website, the foundation claims that Franco helped lay “the foundations on which it was possible for the democracy we enjoy to be built” and that “his successes are considerably greater than his mistakes.”

READ ALSO: 13 changes you may have missed about Spain’s new ‘Civil War’ law

The Ministry explained that it started legal proceedings to shut down the foundation “because it is considered contrary to the general interest to defend Francoism”. The move, which will likely prove controversial in Spain, has been justified by the government because it “complies with the provisions of the Democratic Memory Law.”

The legal justification is an article of the law that outlaws any group “that glorifies the coup d’état and the dictatorship or extols its leaders, with contempt and humiliation of the dignity of the victims of the coup d’état, the war or Francoism, or direct or indirect incitement to hatred or violence against them because of their status as such.”

The Democratic Memory Law, sometimes also referred to as the Historical Memory Law, was passed in October 2022 and is a wide-ranging piece of legislation that aims to settle Spanish democracy’s debt to the past and deal with the complicated legacies of its Civil War and the Franco dictatorship.

READ ALSO: Spain to relocate remains of Franco’s fascist allies to more low-key grave

The Spanish right has long been opposed to any kind of historical memory legislation, claiming that it digs up old rivalries and causes political tension. Spain’s centre-right party, the Partido Popular, pledged at the time to overturn the law if it entered government.

Among many other measures, the law made the search and excavation of mass graves the responsibility of the government, started DNA banks to identify victims, and annulled Franco-era convictions.

Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun stated in the Spanish press that the decision will ultimately be made by the courts. “Basically what we are doing is starting the implementation of the Democratic Memory Law,” he said.

The Franco Foundation said in a press statement that “we find it incomprehensible” that the law is being “directed exclusively against the Francisco Franco National Foundation.”

The process is expected to be lengthy and could involve several levels of the Spanish judiciary. The Franco Foundation may appeal any decision.

Democratic memory legislation is one of a series of steps by the PSOE government to make amends with the past, including exhuming Franco’s body and moving his body to a private family grave in 2019.

The Franco dictatorship is in living memory for many Spaniards and still an emotive issue. Critics argue historical memory legislation digs up historical divisions, and several right-wing run regions of Spain have attempted to repeal the Democratic Memory Law, including Valencia, the Balearic Islands, and Castilla y León.

READ ALSO: IN PICTURES: Franco exhumed, transported by helicopter, and reburied as Spain takes ‘step towards reconciliation’

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