Prostitutes in Sevilla are set to jump to the top of the council housing lists under new legislation from the City Hall

Prostitutes in Sevilla are set to jump to the top of the council housing lists under new legislation from the City Hall. The new legislation considers the prostitutes as victims and considers the best way to get them off the streets is by encouraging them to chose alternatives. The City Hall is carrying out a study into problem, and drawing up a map to show the districts of risk in the city, which will be updated every six months.New information advertising campaigns are being started but the main change in the legislation is that the prostitutes, be they female, male or transsexual will not be fined, but their clients will be. Fining the client is a departure to the methods chosen in other Spanish cities such as Barcelona, Lleida and Granada, and any premises in Sevilla found to be making money from prostitution will lose their licence.It’s hoped that this will eventually lead to an end to street prostitution and for those forced into the activity finding other ways of generating an income, and hence the decision to make them priority cases for council housing.Mayor of Sevilla, Alfredo Sánchez Monteseirín, presented the details of the new legislation, and said to those who described prostitution as the oldest profession in the world, that in fact it was the oldest form of slavery.