Sex for sale trade hit by credit crunch

MADRID
WOMEN working in the world's oldest profession are being hit by the global financial problems.
Prostitutes in Spain are reporting a drop in trade of up to 40 per cent as the economic downturn affects many parts of the country.
Although official figures are hard to come by, it is estimated that 300'000 women work as prostitutes in Spain.
In a Spanish Parliament study it was suggested that 6'000 women worked the streets whilst another estimated 96'000 work in brothels that front as night clubs.

According to figures from the country's National Association of Brothel Owners (ANELA), Spaniards spend around 50 million euros a day on prostitutes.
But 2008, according to ANELA, has seen a reduction of up to 40 percent in the number of clients using their clubs. The financial woes hitting the country, they believe, means men are visiting prostitutes less. But a sex industry worker said she had not really noticed any reduction in trade.