Save the brothels

last updated 8 January 2015

Athens

The Movement of Greek Prostitutes marched on Parliament this week to protest the government’s refusal to allow easy access to brothels during next summer’s Olympics. The government was set to ease restrictions on the locations of bordellos, which in Greece are legal and strictly regulated. But it suddenly reversed course last week and decided to keep prostitution out of the city center next August, when thousands of tourists will be in town for the Olympics. The prostitutes’ union said such a move would only fuel the illegal sex trade, to the detriment of tax-paying sex workers. “We will protest,” said union spokeswoman Dimitra Kanellopoulou. “Those who persevere, win.”