Madrid's sex workers march to demand safe conditions

Nearly 200 people, many of them prostitutes, marched through Madrid on Sunday demanding a safe, clean place for sex workers to ply their trade, in addition to police protection. The protest took place on Montera street, near Sol square, a well-known red light district in the city. The women were accompanied by members of the 15-M movement and a number of citizens, many of whom were men.

Chanting that "prostitution is not a crime, it's a job!" the protestors also complained of police harassment. A spokesperson for Hetaira, one of the associations that helped to organize the march, said that she and her clients were often fined on pretexts such as obstructing traffic.