Proposal to ban stag and hen parties in Malaga wins initial approvement from the City Council

Image of a British stag party in Spain.

Image of a stag party celebrating in Spain. Credit: Evgeny Gubenko/Shutterstock.com

Malaga City Council has taken the first step towards banning stag and hen parties by approving an initial proposal to that effect.

On Thursday, February 16, Malaga City Council approved the initial proposal to ban stag parties in the city. Mar Torres, the Councillor for Citizen Participation presented the proposal which was subsequently approved by all the parties, with the exception of Unidas Podemos, which abstained.

This latest move has been made due to the proliferation, in recent years, of certain behaviours linked mostly to private celebrations. This has been mainly linked to stag and hen parties with the exclusive use of underwear or erotic content in public spaces.

In short, this new regulation seeks to put a stop to certain uncivil behaviours that may disturb the coexistence of the city’s residents and visitors.

According to the proposed change in regulation, among others – except with municipal authorisation for specific places – “it is forbidden to walk or remain on the streets or in public spaces without clothes or only in underwear; with clothes or accessories that represent the genitals of human beings or with dolls or elements of a sexual nature”.

On the other hand, it specifies that the police will first inform the persons involved of the existence of the prohibition contemplated in this ordinance. If they persist in the attitude that is not permitted, then the officers will be allowed to proceed with sanctioning the individuals according to the relevant complaint.

Socialist councillor Rosa del Mar Rodriguez explained her vote in favour of the initiative and said that it was “very common sense to modify the ordinance”. In fact, she continued, “they are in line with what our group has called for on countless occasions, even bringing motions to that effect”.

“The only objection”, she said, is “the time we have had to wait to put a stop to this. We regret the delay, which damages the image of Malaga, but we will vote in favour”, she added.

Remedios Ramos, the councillor of Unidas Podemos, whose group abstained, said she understood: “the effort of the government team to incorporate into the ordinance the demands of the citizens, and issues that we have also brought to the plenary hall”. She alluded to the: “lamentable spectacle that is given with the issue of stag parties”.

However, she recalled the group’s vote against the ordinance at the time, as it “included the disproportionate sanctioning of prostitutes.

“We understand that this ordinance continues to persecute women and we understand that prostitution is an extreme form of sexist violence; as long as this appears in the ordinance, we will continue to insist that it must disappear. We are going to abstain on the ordinance, understanding the positive aspects of its contribution”, she explained.

Mar Torres thanked the PSOE for supporting the initiative: “which in the end, aims to put a stop to certain uncivil behaviour that we have been having in the city”, She reminded Unidas Podemos that: “the point we are bringing today refers exclusively to starting the process to incorporate it into the existing ordinance”.

“We do not understand the abstention since it is the point in which the contribution is requested for these uncivil behaviours”, she concluded, as reported by laopiniondemalaga.es.

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Written by

Chris King

Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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