Rome's Plan For Prostitutes Upsets Sex Workers And The Catholic Church

[rug]

The Sts. Peter and Paul Basilica is in Rome's EUR district. The area has seen a rise in prostitution, and authorities have approved plans for a red light zone where prostitution will be officially tolerated in certain areas. While much of the community appears to support the move, Catholic groups are among those opposed, saying it legitimizes the exploitation of women.

Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images

April 09, 2015 3:29 AM ET
Syli\via Poggioli

On Rome's southern outskirts, EUR is a middle- and upper-middle class neighborhood full of parks and office buildings. With tens of thousands of people coming and going every day, the neighborhood has also become a magnet for prostitutes.

This has upset many residents. Now, neighborhood officials are preparing to create a "zone of tolerance," which is welcomed by the local community, but not the Catholic Church or the prostitutes.

Resident Armando Grassi supports the plan to corral streetwalkers somewhere far from his home.

"That would be so much better than this open-air pigsty," he says. "All day long, outside office buildings and schools, while kids are walking with their grandparents. It's embarrassing! Why should my 75-year-old father have to explain to my 6-year-old son what that couple is doing behind the trees?"

http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2015/04/09/398341843/romes-plan-for-prostitutes-upsets-sex-workers-and-the-catholic-chuch

4:38 audio at link.