A study examines prostitution in Central Catalonia and highlights its exclusion and lack of visibility

Prostitution and how to address it has been a subject of constant political, social and academic debate in recent years. A new study entitled "Diagnosi de la Prostitució a la Catalunya Central" [Diagnosis of Prostitution in Central Catalonia], focusing on the situation in the regions of Anoia, Bages and Osona, has just been published. The study uses scientific evidence to examine the state of affairs and analyse the response from both the public sphere and the third sector, in a region in which prostitution is to a large degree invisible.

Indeed, this lack of visibility is one of the issues highlighted by the study, which was carried out by the association Dones amb Empenta (DAE). The work also reveals ignorance of the phenomenon, as well as the prejudices and social stigma that affect prostitution in the specific area that was studied. The study was authored by Sandra Ezquerra, coordinator of the Society, Politics and Inclusive Communities research group (SoPCI) and director of the UNESCO Chair in Women, Development and Cultures at the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC), and Marta Venceslao, a member of the Exclusion and Social Control research group (GRECS) of the Department of Anthropology of the University of Barcelona (UB). Sònia Fernàndez and Margarida Fité of DAE also participated, and Montserrat Sánchez, Deputy Director General of Lluita Contra la Violència Masclista de la Generalitat de Catalunya [Government of Catalonia Fight Against Sexist Violence] contributed to the online presentation of the study on 10 December.

More public policies and social intervention initiatives

"Starting by recognising that this is a highly complex phenomenon, we study it in more depth and map the real situation in order to help to create public policies and social intervention initiatives focused on the needs and demands of women, which prevent their social exclusion and stigmatisation, and as a result, the situations of vulnerability and violence they live in," explain Margarida Fité and Sònia Fernàndez. According to Sandra Ezquerra and Marta Venceslao, "the study aims to provide qualitative data giving a snapshot of prostitution, but also, and above all, to lead to the creation of public policies and social intervention initiatives based on these women's needs."

Among other issues, the study shows that the restriction of rights arising from the Spanish Aliens Law places women in increasingly vulnerable situations. The illegal administrative status of these people creates an obstacle to access to basic rights, including housing, free movement in the public sphere and family reunification.

The stigma that accompanies prostitution is an issue that is highlighted by the institutions and associated services, and by the women themselves. The institutions and services stress the importance of training and awareness of the phenomenon of prostitution among professionals in the social and healthcare fields with a twofold dimension. In addition, according to the report, the fact that prostitution is not recognised as work is directly related to a problem of social exclusion.

Based on real testimonies

Apart from the specialised literature and the multidisciplinary bibliography that the study contains, it is very valuable due to the information provided by the various witnesses interviewed: members of 15 social care, women's welfare and healthcare organisations and services in the Anoia, Bages and Osona regions, and 18 women from the area engaged in prostitution, who are all foreign, of whom 50% are living in Spain illegally. Many of the interviewees, 27.8%, are between 36 and 40 years old.

Although the data are partial due to the group's lack of visibility, the study also focuses on the socio-demographic profiles of women involved in prostitution in Catalonia; the conditions in which they work and the obstacles they encounter in their daily lives – the migration process, stigmatisation, a lack of legal protection, economic vulnerability, coexistence with neighbours, etc. The study also examines the services currently available to them, from women's welfare services to mediation offices. It also includes the assessment made by professionals working in these services about the existing resources and policies, and the most pressing needs mentioned by the women themselves, including the legalisation of their administrative situation, training and job opportunities, increased awareness about the reality of prostitution, and safety issues and legalisation of the activity.

The authors of the study emphasise the need for social awareness of the reality of prostitution, and a political commitment that must consequently guarantee these women's basic rights. "The way to give these women a dignified life plan is to create public policies that counter sexist violence and the vulnerabilities associated with it," they conclude.

The study received funding from the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Families of the Government of Catalonia, within the framework of activities to combat gender-based violence by the Fund of the Government Agreement against Gender Violence.