Barcelona toughens anti-prostitution law

16th August 2012, 0 comments

The Spanish city of Barcelona will fine the clients of prostitutes soliciting in the street up to 3,000 euros with lesser penalties for streetwalkers, city authorities said Thursday.

The city will fine "clients and people helping or promoting" prostitution in the street when a new bylaw comes into force on Friday, the city hall said in a statement.

The prostitutes will face fines between 100 and 300 euros and their clients 1,000 to 1,200 euros.

This rises to as much as 750 euros for a prostitute and 1,500 for a client if soliciting takes place less than 200 metres (650 feet) from a school.

Those caught having sex in a public place will be fined up to 3,000 euros.

The town hall added that it was "driving forward measures to protect people who practice prostitution, given that they are the weakest and most vulnerable."

Prostitutes will have the chance to cancel their fine if they attend social courses to get out of prostitution.

Prostitution is not illegal nationwide in Spain but was banned in Barcelona in 2006. That ban has not curbed it in Spain's second-biggest city and the new bylaw toughens the conditions, particularly the fines for clients.

The city hall said the new bylaw came into legal force on Thursday and would be applied in practice "soon".