New report finds 100,000 men use prostitution on the Balearic islands each year

New research into the sex trade on the Balearic Islands estimates that around 100,000 men use prostitutes there every year. There are thought to be around 2,350 prostituted women on the Mediterranean islands of Ibiza, Majorca, Minorca and Formentera, although the study indicates that this figure is likely to be an underestimate.

A police operation targetting prostituted women in Magaluf

A new investigation into the prostitution industry has been carried out by the GEBIP, a coalition of prostitution researchers from several organisations working on the Balearic islands. The report is the first of its kind to focus on male buyers on the Spanish islands, including permanent residents, seasonal workers and tourists.

The study found that around 4,900 men were ‘heavy’ consumers who used prostituted women 5 times or more a month. 15,000 men paid for sex acts 3 or 4 times a month, while around 25,000 paid once a month. In addition to these groups of residents, tourists and seasonal workers bring the figure up to roughly 100,000 male users a year. During the tourist season the consumption of prostitution increases dramatically on the Spanish islands, where the sex trade is estimated to be worth at least 50 million euros a year.

This demand is attended to by around 2,350 prostituted women, of whom 600 are paid to perform sex acts by at least 20 men a week, while 750 attend to 10 men a week. According to interviews conducted as part of the study, most of these women have been trafficked and trapped in debt bondage by their pimps, forcing them to attend to more men. There is also a growing trend in ‘part-time’ prostitution, with around 1000 women who attend to 3 or 4 men a week, mainly during the tourist season. Most of the women also have low-paid jobs outside of the sex industry.

The report also highlights the many damaging effects of the islands’ economic crisis on women and children in prostitution. Hardship and tough competition is driving down prices, meaning prostituted women are being forced to perform more high-risk sexual acts demanded by male buyers, including penetration without a condom. The number of women aged 40 or over in prostitution is also on the increase, many of whom use the money to support their families. The sexual exploitation of minors, who are usually homeless or from very poor families, is also on the rise according to the study.

The investigation found that women and girls are increasingly being pimped in small apartments where they are less visible and more vulnerable to violence. The policy of fining prostituted women by the local authorities has been condemned by Medicos del Mundo, an NGO which forms part of the GEBIP, and works with victims of the sex trade. Alberto Gundin, a spokesman for the organisation, condemns the criminalisation of the women, stating that “they aren’t ‘delinquents’ or antisocial people who need punishment. They are victims of sex trafficking”. Gundin also points out that the vast majority of fines are given to women who have been trafficked from African countries and not usually women of other nationalities, leading to accusations of institutional racism. The report concludes that penalising prostituted women increases their stigmatisation and subjection to sexual violence, and that the pressure needs to be transferred to the male buyers.

Translation and adaption by Ben Riddick

Spanish source text here