Calvia council want new law to ban street prostitution

Street prostitution in Magalluf has become a serious problem with the tourist industry, business owners and local residents calling on the council to act. The council have said that they lack the necessary legal framework to take action against street prostitution. Prostitutes have also been accused of mugging and robbing tourists as well.

A recent high court ruling said that street prostitution was not a criminal offence especially when you take into account the enormous back-log of work in the law courts. According to the Partido Popular, this led to an increase in prostitution because those responsible believed that they were “outside the law” and would simply be arrested and then released.

But the council believes that if Central government passes this legislation it will allow them to act and eradicate the problem once and for all. The Partido Popular said that the majority of the street prostitutes in Calvia were illegal foreign residents. The centre-right party said that it was up to the central government to deal with the problem.

Magalluf residents say that prostitution is one of the biggest problems facing the resort at the moment. The problem has got so bad some tourists are afraid to go out at night because they fear being attacked. The street prostitution problem was featured on a controversial BBC documentary about Magalluf and Mayor Manu Onieva was criticised for not taking action. However, he said that his hands were tied and was unable to take any action because they lacked the necessary legal powers.

The Partido Popular now wants to change this state of affairs with this new piece of legislation.