“Hi gentleman! Do you want to have a good time?” The phrase is pronounced by one of the people who are possibly sexually exploited on a street in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and the recipient of such a message is a man who may well be close to 80 years of age. His face clearly shows the astonishment at such a kind invitation from a woman who, in any case, will not have blown out half the candles on her last birthday.
Given the logical life experience accumulated by the old man in question, it is obvious that the reason for his surprise is not due to an unexpected encounter with a prostitute who offers her services on the street. But he has plenty of reasons for it, given that the scene took place in broad daylight (specifically, before noon on a working day this week) and in a street as central to the capital of Tenerife as Carmen Monteverde. If they add to this that the woman in question was sitting next to three others in some folding chairs installed in the existing pedestrian section of said road, more than astonishment it seems that it was the astonishment that left the man in question with his mouth open. and hardly articulating any more response than an almost inaudible negative that he accompanied with an unequivocal shake of the head.
DIARIO DE AVISOS is a direct witness to the veracity of what has been reported Although it may seem unbelievable, a short distance from such emblematic points of the Tenerife capital as Plaza Weyler and in the vicinity of busy streets such as Puerta Canseco, during a good part of the day You can notice the presence of these sex workers spread out on a kind of outdoor terrace, as if it were any bar or cafeteria and thus manages to attract more customers. It was barely enough to hang around the place for several days to verify that, indeed, their presence is constant in this pedestrian part of Carmen Monteverde, as well as that a property is used to sell their favors in exchange for the corresponding financial compensation.
However, at night they disappear, but this does not mean that tranquility and normal coexistence return to the place, rather the opposite, since they are relieved on public roads by young men who, supposedly, are engaged in drug retailing, a presence that dissuades anyone and advises to change course, given the night. In this regard, the movement of entrances and exits points to another property, this one on a crossroad to the previous one, Juan Padrón street, where perhaps it is the place where at least part of the sex workers spend the night, let us not forget , from the first hour they have to comply with their sad working day.
To finish with the description of such a scenario, it is necessary to provide a historical vision of it and point out two not insignificant pieces of information about the two buildings. Regarding the perspective that precedes these events, there is practically no chicharrero who is unaware that the adjoining Miraflores street was for decades the reference point for the prostitution street with regard to the center of Santa Cruz, and anyone who passed through it could check it until not so long ago. However, for some time now, urban planning in the area has radically changed, and what were once abandoned buildings are now the result of real estate developments that surely provide huge benefits to those who invested in them.
As for the two aforementioned buildings, this newspaper is aware (thanks to the data provided by reliable sources that cite workers who accessed their interior to fix damage to it) that Carmen Monteverde’s is enabled in such a way that between ten and twelve beds are lined up one next to the other, a layout compatible with the presumable use for which it is intended. For its part, it is noteworthy that the one on Juan Padrón street is still standing as it appears on the list of protected properties in the capital that the Cabildo drew up years ago, and that since then has left no cause for controversy with the City Council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where they have always been in favor of excluding not a few of those that appear in it.
The neighbors
When speaking with the residents of the property whose homes overlook this part of Carmen Monteverde street, their responses to this newspaper reveal their astonishment and concern about what it means to live with street prostitution, despite the fact that they expressly requested not signify personally in the complaint for more than understandable reasons. This was not an obstacle for them to explain that the situation becomes unbearable for them because, without going any further, it is enough to open the windows of the two houses on the ground floor of their building to bump into the women at eye level sitting in the chairs “since eight in the morning”, admits one of them who asks to remain anonymous. “We do know that, since these two houses are dedicated to vacation rentals, some who rented them left before the agreed contract was fulfilled and refused to pay what was promised for this reason.”
“The worst thing is the children”, explains another neighbor before adding that “they ask you what those ladies do there all day and the truth is that we run out of excuses and they will be small but not stupid, and you notice how they are They realize that something is wrong.
Of course, some have mobilized and for this reason they have presented a letter “before the Government Sub-delegation and the City Council. In the first case, the response was immediate and they have referred us to the National Police, where they certainly treated us this week with great kindness, but they acknowledge that it is a complex issue for them to address, although in recent days they have here are some patrols”. As for the City Council, “we still don’t know anything about it.”
“We don’t want problems, but if what happens during the day doesn’t seem normal to us, even worse is that we are scared when we arrive at night and have to take a detour to get home,” concludes a neighbor, who provides a key detail about the seriousness of the facts.
When questioned about the presence, already detected by this newspaper as mentioned above, of a man who seems to have ancestry over the women in question, he confirms that “he seems to be the one in charge, and since everything is heard, we have heard him yell at them: “What you have to do is get the money out of the old man!”
Legality
As is well known, the practice of prostitution is not contemplated as a crime in the Spanish Penal Code, and any expert recognizes that such practices are currently illegal in our country. Very different is the treatment given to pimping, for which article 187 contemplates prison sentences of two to four years and a fine of 12 to 24 months for those who profit by exploiting the prostitution of another person. In addition, it is added that “it will be understood that there is exploitation when any of the following circumstances occur: that the victim is in a situation of personal or economic vulnerability, or that burdensome, disproportionate or abusive conditions are imposed for its exercise.”
However, this issue is the subject of great controversy, to such an extent that the Government of Spain has been proposing a reform of it for more than a year given that in practice “this type of crime does not work, and one might wonder why exploited women do not they denounce”, pointed out to Newtral a few days ago the professor of Criminal Law at the University of the Basque Country, Miren Ortubay, who is also a criminologist and specialist in gender and sexual violence. The reform plans, still not materialized, happen because the persecution of pimping is separated from exploitation, thus expanding the aforementioned criminal type, but for this, the aforementioned penalties would have to be reduced to one to three years in prison. For now, there is anything but consensus.
Be that as it may, in the case that concerns us about this rise in street prostitution in the center of Santa Cruz in the vicinity of Miraflores street (an area that housed it for decades), it is also worth asking about other legal aspects, such as the situation of the women who carry out such work there with respect to the regulations on Immigration, given that due to their accents it could be assumed that they come from other countries.
The possible administrative infractions seem more relevant, since the irregular invasion of public space by the singular daily terrace installed on Carmen Monteverde street with the folding chairs where they wait for their clients seems evident. There is also doubt about the conditions of the affected properties with respect to the regulations on Public Health.
