We use cookies to improve our service for you. You can find more information in our data protection declaration. Italy's capital may soon have a red light district. Authorities in Rome have approved a plan to allow prostitution in a business center to the south of the city. The move has been met by fierce opposition. Officials on Saturday said they expected the red light zone slated for the southern suburb of Eur to be open for business in April.
The plan's architects in the local council hope to bring the district's unregulated sex trade under control by making it possible for customers to visit prostitutes in a designated non-residential area. Us residents need a bit of peace. The group will also be responsible for distributing condoms and promoting safer sex. If the experiment proves successful, the local council aims to establish other red light zones in the Eur area - a business district that was originally built at the behest of dictator Benito Mussolini in the s.
Plans to establish what would be Rome's first red light district have drawn strong criticism from the Catholic Church, from the center-right opposition on Rome's municipal council, and from members of Marino's own Democratic Party PD. PD councillor Gianluca Santilli argued the scheme would likely lead to unacceptable prostitute "ghettoes. Enrico Feroci, the Rome director of Catholic charity Caritas, said the initiative was morally wrong.
However, Andrea Catarci, the council leader in a neighboring district, threw his support behind the scheme, saying many parts of the capital faced similar problems with street prostitution.
While Italian law does not ban the sale of sex, soliciting, pimping, and operating a brothel are illegal. According to government estimates, Italy has 70, - , prostitutes, and 2. Traditionally home to female and transgender prostitutes, activists hope the neighborhood's famous windows can be opened up to all sex workers. The equality campaign is part of Amsterdam's Gay Pride festival.
