Numerous investigations carried out by various NGOs in recent years, alongside recent updates from governmental bodies, highlight a notably flourishing phase for prostitution: private residences, overshadowing street activity and, to a lesser extent, clubs.
Moreover, they emphasise the significant proportion of foreign individuals engaged in this profession, notably in South Tenerife, where over 90% of the women involved are young migrants from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The evolution of what has been termed the oldest profession in the world is apparent. While prostitution appears to be stabilising in clubs, it is experiencing a decline on the streets (the lowest category regarding the degradation of women earning a living through this work), where the risk of violence is higher, though there exists greater autonomy regarding practices, hours, and pricing.
Conversely, clubs offer a degree of protection from the various forms of violence imposed by men on women providing their services, although control over the number of transactions still rests with the managers of these establishments, which saw significant growth in the 1990s with women of diverse ages and nationalities.
Private residences have emerged as the primary enclosed locations for prostitution. While some are directly managed by the individuals offering the service, many of these properties are run by third parties, indirectly involved in this activity. As reported in the macro-state trafficking analysis on sexual exploitation and prostitution of women, prepared in 2024 by the government delegation against gender-based violence, this situation poses numerous risks for women concerning their vulnerability to exploitation and abuse.
The report stresses that due to these private settings fostering invisibility and secrecy, as they are not visible from the outside, effective police inspections become exceedingly challenging, rendering them high-risk environments for the trafficking of women for sexual exploitation.
The document underscores how advancements in technology and especially the growth of the Internet have revolutionised the sexual exploitation sector through forums, websites, and online platforms, leading to a mass migration of prostitution into the digital realm, resulting in a surge of platforms facilitating the exchange of information and the assessment of “services” or, even, pornographic material in return for money from the government delegation against gender violence.
The national assessment provides a striking statistic: in 2023, approximately 115,000 women aged 18 and above were engaged in prostitution through advertisements on online platforms. The rise of these new modalities, giving birth to the phenomenon known as prostitution 2.0, was exacerbated by the confinement measures during the Covid-19 pandemic, which compelled women in such situations to seek alternative avenues beyond the streets and clubs for economic survival.
In its findings, the document describes as “surprising” the “overflow” towards other platforms where the advertisement of prostitution is not explicitly identified, alongside the “remarkable” ease of accessing this information.
In the case of migrants, who constitute the largest demographic among those engaging in prostitution in South Tenerife, the analysis indicates that foreign legislation and irregular administrative status heighten their vulnerability, thus escalating the risk of their involvement in this activity. The review also uncovers a “shadow world” within the online forums, where accounts of all forms of mistreatment are exchanged.
Organisations such as the Cruz Blanca Foundation focus a considerable amount of their efforts on providing outreach services to areas where individuals are involved in prostitution, offering mediation and support to enable access to social resources. Their initiatives, realised through programmes like O’Cambalache, operate across various regions in the south, particularly in Arona, where the densest concentrations of prostitution are reported. Indeed, in the municipality of Arona, they reached out to and assisted approximately 500 women in the past year and a half.
