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PROSTITUTES ON THE tourist island Ibiza have formed a sex workers’ cooperative to pay taxes and gain social security benefits — the first such group legally registered in Spain, they say.
Eleven women registered with local authorities as working members of the Sealeer Cooperative providing sexual services, said their spokeswoman, Maria Jose Lopez.
“We are pioneers,” she told AFP. “We are the first cooperative in Spain that can give legal cover to the girls.”
The 11 active sex workers who registered in November are women in their 20s and 30s from Spain, Italy and “the East”, she said, declining to elaborate.
The group is applying to register 40 more women as members.
A 42-year-old local housewife, Lopez is not a sex worker herself but registered as a member of Sealeer to act as a voluntary representative for the women, who refuse to speak to reporters.
Like any workers’ cooperative, Sealeer members declare their income and pay taxes, which entitles them to public healthcare, a pension and other benefits.
A parliamentary report on prostitution in 2007 said Spaniards spent 50 million euros ($68 million) a day on prostitutes, of which it estimated there were 400,000 working in the country — the latest such figures available.
In Ibiza, whose sweltering beaches draw millions of foreign tourists every year, “prostitution moves a huge amount of money in summer”, in hostess bars and in private apartments, Lopez said.
“Just as they regulate the hotels and restaurants to make sure all the workers are registered, they should also see that the girls are comfortable and legalised.”
Prostitution is neither illegal nor regulated nationwide in Spain but the government in November unveiled a new civil security bill that would fine people for picking up prostitutes near schools.
Authorities in Barcelona have introduced fines for picking up prostitutes in the street and Madrid is planning to do the same.
Prostitutes can register as workers in Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands and in some cases claim social benefits.
Despite prostitution being tolerated in practice in Spain, the issue is divisive.
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They should have asked liam neeson.he won’t be busy for next while id say.
@Seriously stunned: na, he probably will. I’m sure rational people can interpret what he actually said, and not let the gutter press do it for them.
@Seriously stunned: Kevin hart is racist too that’s why there’s no host
@Damien Barton: Sure apparantly everyone’s a racist now
@Damien Barton: Hart is not hosting because he is homophobic. Although he could be racist also, it’s hard to keep up.
@Lily Martin: he’s not homophobic. Do keep up.
@Aidan Mitchell: who are these rational people of whom you speak?
I hear your a racist now father
Who would want to host the number one SJW event of the year? Especially after seeing what they did to Kevin Hart
@PC Principal:
And more people watched the food channel last year than the Oscars, which is why they’ve introduced a new award “Most popular movie”, a desperate stunt to recover viewers.
DeNiro’s recent outburst on stage against Trump was a typical example of the mindset of these detached self-adulatory millionaires and why people are tuning out in their droves.
@The Quare Fella: Hollywood is in the process of disappearing up its one bum.
If you want to know how well a movie did these days then you just have to look it up online instead of a show being hosted by questionable people telling us what we should think and what deserves an award because they belong to a particular race and gender that happens to be the flavour of the month
Maroon 5 could be hosting after the terrific job they did at the Superbowl :)
And not a white male honky amongst them I bet.
@Graham Murphy: if you’re interested; they’re listed in the article you skipped past on your way to comment. Daniel Craig and Chris Evans, just in case you can’t be bothered.
Who gives a damn about it
Trump!
I ended watching the ‘Oscars’ when Adrien Brody got best actor over Daniel Day Lewis.
“Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”
@Punker: “Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. It doesn’t last as long if you’re fat.”
@Kem Trayle: :) :)
The patriarchal systems of institutionalized structures are problematic
Liam Neeson and Kevin Hart would make it interesting
Good. Less stupid comments.
have your say