Opinions of jurists on prostitution in Spain

This study gathers the opinions of judges and public prosecutors on the distinction between prostitution and trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation, the most suitable legal treatment of prostitution, and the possibility of penalising clients of prostitution for the purpose of improving t...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Meneses Falcón, Carmen|||0000-0002-5368-4253, Rúa Vieites, Antonio|||0000-0002-6915-2067
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:283180
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/283180
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.5565/rev/papers.3146
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Prostitution
Sexual work
Sex trafficking
Judges
Magistrates
Sexual policy
Prostitución
Trabajo sexual
Trata sexual
Jueces
Magistrados
Política sexual
Prostitució
Treball sexual
Tràfic sexual
Jutges
Magistrats
Descripción
Sumario:This study gathers the opinions of judges and public prosecutors on the distinction between prostitution and trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation, the most suitable legal treatment of prostitution, and the possibility of penalising clients of prostitution for the purpose of improving the prosecution of the crime of trafficking. A survey of 71 Spanish judges and 19 interviews with judges and prosecutors were carried out. Fifty-three percent of judges agreed with regulating prostitution, and the majority believe that clients of prostitution could collaborate in the detection of trafficking victims. Four opinion groups were identified: the Doubters (41%); those Ambiguous about their positions (15.5%); the Pragmatic (21%), who consider that prostitution should be regulated but do not see it as a normal job; and the pro-Sex Work (22.5%), who agree with regulating prostitution and view it as a job like any other. Judges need clarity on legislation and policy on prostitution in order to be able to prosecute pimping offences. An appropriate regulation of prostitution is necessary to end its extralegality and the lack of regulation creates a vacuum that is left to the interpretation of the judicial system.