prostitution in el país, translated

i'm assuming part of the huge spike in numbers on my blog is because people are curious about what the el país/boquería sex workers article actually said. the pictures are a hot mess, but the article is evenhanded and kind of funny. especially when one resident is like, 'you know what the answer is? whore houses!!' some typical man shit right there. for those among us who speak/read limited/no spanish, here it is, my not perfect, but certainly helpful, translation of the el país article in question, in its entirety. i just woke up this morning and decided to do this, totally forgoing the use of a dictionary. so if you speak spanish and have any suggestions for better translations (something more accurate than 'legislation' for ordenanza cívica would be really helpful), por favor, que me avises.

****

Neighbors and Business Owners Protest [the existing] Regulation of Prostitution: has the legislation aimed at regulating prostitution failed?

prohibition or regulation? fight against prostitution, like in Sweden, or do like the dutch, and recognize it as the world's oldest profession? these two options divide people in every city and state that has to deal with the issue of prostitution. barcelona has tried to eradicate the business of sex in the streets with legislation [una ordenanza cívica] that levied fines against anyone offering or soliciting sex in the streets. this legislation has proved itself to be completely ineffectual. now residents of the raval neighborhood, business owners of the boquería, and social workers trying to help prostitutes, have come together with one clear, common goal: to confront the problems posed by prostitution. they all agree there must be some type of regulation, and designation of places where prostitution can be exercised.

in city hall, politicians still like the idea of the original legislation and are thinking about the possibility of tweaking it. on the streets though, for example, las egipcíaques ('the egyptians'), residents can confirm the fact that prostitution has been a part of the raval since its origins. the question, how have things gone this far without government intervention?

'there have always been prostitutes working here', explains manel ripoll. ripoll is the president of [like, the equivalent of a 'better business' association of the boquería). every morning, he and his colleagues must clear the ground of used condoms before opening their shops and stalls. ripoll, whose family has had a stall in the market for more than a century, is clear on what he thinks the solution to this problem of more than a decade, should be: close access to the boquería at night with a [wall or gate or something] made of glass*. 'this would make life easier for [those of us who own businesses in the boquería,] but in the streets, the problem would persist.

what to do then? increase police presence? residents know (and even the police themselves agree) that no matter how many officers are on the streets, there'll never be enough. how about security cameras? there are already cameras in the boquería, and that doesn't stop sex workers from using it as a sex den.

ripoll suggests a more comprehensive solution: old school brothels. 'girls who worked in brothels had to have some type of registered identification, and every month, they went to doctors for check ups'. so, no prohibition, then. according to ripoll, the parliament needs to get involved [right now, handling prostitution is left to local/regional authority]. the last attempt by the department of the interior to promote the regulation of prostitution was made in 2006, when the socialist montserrat tura was in charge. it's since been aborted.

but regulation has its skeptics. 'when a society regulates prostitution, it imprisons those women [in that type of work] and the violence with which these women live becomes apparent and necessitates protective actions on the part of the government', critiques charo carracedo, spokesperson for 'the abolition platform'. 'what we must do is delegitimize prostitution.' she adds, 'it's childish to think that self- managed/non-regulated sectors can actually work'.

but it's not only ripoll who thinks brothells are a good idea. maría casas also laments that under franco, brothels were closed and prostitutes were thrown into the street. 'there used to be a certain level of respect between the residents and the neighborhood prostitutes', she remembers. casas is in charge of the neighborhood association of taula del raval, where her mothe also grew up. she believes there must be designated places to for sex work, outside of the public view. 'and it would be better if the designated places were distributed throughout the city', she notes, a bit fed up that the majority of barcelona's vices are concentrated in the raval neighborhood. in terms of regulating prostitution, an option the collective of neighborhood associations of barcelona likes as well, casas adds another possible solution: sit the residents and prostitutes down for a conference.

social worker marcela torres from the ngo, àmbit dona, also stresses the necessity of dialogue. she speaks out most strongly against legislation that, she believes, 'assumes a before and after for sex workers. these days their situation is more precarious than ever'. for 10 years torres has worked with sex workers, and she denounces street regulations. 'It's absurd to impose a fine on a girl who has to work the streets to earn a living, she adds.

she sums it up, thus: 'there are folks asking for a more dignified neighborhood. but more dignified for whom? for prostitutes, every day it's more dangerous, because instead of regulating the activity, we're punishing it.'

notes:
ripoll says 'vidrio' which is not glass exactly, but something like it. we make doors and windows out of it.