Prostitutes
And lots of them. Brothels are illegal in Spain but operate under a thin veil of being a drinking club and are scattered intermittently along the length and breadth of all the major trunk roads, one of these being the N340 which runs the length of the country along the Mediterranean Coast and the road which our village is located just off. The brothels are highly visible and are usually lit up in bright neon lights as 'Club 38' or some other random number, I assume that the number is the nearest km marking on the road, although I've not actually checked this. They are mainly found on the outskirts of towns and not generally in residential areas.
However, peppered in between these brothels are the roadside girls, these are not so much ladies of the night as they can be seen at all hours of the day. Some of them are very scantily dressed and are a sight to behold and probably responsible for some traffic accidents as drivers rubber neck and do a double take to look at them. They often work in little gangs, I guess for safety, although a few of the girls who ply their trade near us are usually alone, save for their white plastic chair.
And lots of them. Brothels are illegal in Spain but operate under a thin veil of being a drinking club and are scattered intermittently along the length and breadth of all the major trunk roads, one of these being the N340 which runs the length of the country along the Mediterranean Coast and the road which our village is located just off. The brothels are highly visible and are usually lit up in bright neon lights as 'Club 38' or some other random number, I assume that the number is the nearest km marking on the road, although I've not actually checked this. They are mainly found on the outskirts of towns and not generally in residential areas.
However, peppered in between these brothels are the roadside girls, these are not so much ladies of the night as they can be seen at all hours of the day. Some of them are very scantily dressed and are a sight to behold and probably responsible for some traffic accidents as drivers rubber neck and do a double take to look at them. They often work in little gangs, I guess for safety, although a few of the girls who ply their trade near us are usually alone, save for their white plastic chair.
Whilst prostitution itself is legal in Spain, pimping and coercion is most definitely not and this is where the real issue lies. 90% of Spain's working girls are illegal immigrants, coming from South and Central America, Eastern Europe and North Africa. They are all controlled by criminal gangs and I suspect that most of the girls have been bought here against their will. Sadly, neither the Spanish Government, or indeed the police at a local level seem to want to do anything about it, soliciting girls are not moved on by the authorities, the police turn a blind eye.
Interestingly the number of working girls around us (you get to recognise a lot of them driving by) seems to have greatly reduced, I'm not sure if that is just because we've had an horrendous winter and even the pimps won't make their girls stand out in 50 kph winds, or because of the appalling economic situation in Spain currently means that there are less punters. Time will tell I guess, as we move into nicer weather and increased tourism. Sadly it probably means that the girls are being trafficked somewhere else in the world instead.
Interestingly the number of working girls around us (you get to recognise a lot of them driving by) seems to have greatly reduced, I'm not sure if that is just because we've had an horrendous winter and even the pimps won't make their girls stand out in 50 kph winds, or because of the appalling economic situation in Spain currently means that there are less punters. Time will tell I guess, as we move into nicer weather and increased tourism. Sadly it probably means that the girls are being trafficked somewhere else in the world instead.
