Move to shut down region’s brothels

THE Generalitat hopes to use the latest Covid-19 restrictions to close premises used for prostitution.
Regional president Ximo Puig emphasised in the local Spanish media that the Generalitat was also aware that it was necessary to act within a legal framework that could only be provided by the central government.
Precisely because of this, the regional president said that he intended to request legislation advances that could lead to abolishing prostitution.
Covid-19 cases have been traced throughout Spain to Clubs de Alterne (Gentlemen’s Clubs), a polite term for brothels which, strictly speaking, are prohibited.
Some have managed to stay under the legal radar as cocktail bars or nightspots that anti-Covid legislation has recently closed.  Others, which function as small hotels, bars or even students’ residences remain open.
This is where the regional government hopes to take action, taking advantage of Covid-19 health and safety regulations.
Whether it is successful or not, owing to the existing legal vacuum regarding prostitution, remains to be seen although Ana Barcelo, who heads the Generalitat’s Health department declared last week that the regional government would not hesitate to shut down brothels.
“They can be closed at any time after analysing their epidemiological risks as centres of possible outbreaks,” Barcelo said.