The socialist parliamentary group will soon present a bill to eradicate prostitution in Spain.
The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, announced this Saturday that his party, the Socialist Party, will promote the abolition of prostitution in Spain through a proposed law.
During an electoral pre-campaign event in Bilbao for the Socialist Party of Euskadi, Sánchez revealed that, following the approval of the Trafficking Law, the socialist parliamentary group will soon present a bill to eradicate prostitution in Spain.
“I still have a pending matter from the Socialist Party Congress, a commitment to the abolition of prostitution,” said Sánchez. “Soon, the Socialist Parliamentary Group will present a bill to make abolition a reality in our country,” he affirmed.
On International Women’s Day, feminist activists from the PSOE launched a campaign to gather support and promote the expulsion of public officials who engage in sexual acts in exchange for remuneration or any type of benefit. Over a hundred Spanish socialist activists, including prominent historical leaders, submitted a manifesto to their party’s leadership, urging an update to the Ethical Code to expel public officials who have resorted to prostitution.
The document emphasizes that while all party members are bound by the Code, public and organizational officials are especially obligated to perform their duties with austerity, integrity, impartiality, honesty, exemplarity, efficiency, and full dedication to public service and the party, if applicable. Therefore, the proposal demands “explicit rejection in the Ethical Code of the degrading business of prostitution.
“We demand it as an inexcusable condition for fulfilling the principle of exemplarity of public officials, with its violation being grounds for expulsion of anyone who solicits, accepts, or obtains a sexual act from a person in exchange for remuneration or any type of benefit,” warns the manifesto.
The signatories consider this stance “consistent” with their party’s policies and urge the application of the principle of exemplarity within the party.
Spanish Minister of Equality, Ana Redondo, stated that she is not familiar with the proposal but will evaluate it because “if they have said it, there must be a reason.” Redondo, making her debut as Minister of Equality on March 8th, refrained from commenting on the proposal and emphasized the diverse sensitivities within the Socialist Party, respecting all perspectives on this day of advocacy.
Sánchez publicly addressed this demand in an event where he also criticized the conservative President of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, for “trivializing” International Women’s Day by asking when Men’s Day is celebrated.
The Spanish President asserted that Ayuso’s statement “diminished the cause of millions of women who fought before her” for equality and feminism.
During his speech, Sánchez also highlighted his party’s efforts to “root out” corruption, contrasting it with the People’s Party (PP), which he claimed “shelters and protects” such behaviors.
This reference was made in connection to a recent case of alleged illegal commissions in the sale of masks during the pandemic, involving a former advisor to a socialist minister.
