More than half of the people attended in prostitution settings in Palma were new cases

PalmaThe Direct Attention Network for People in Environments of Prostitution (Xadpep) of the Palma City Council assisted a total of 1,328 people during 2025, 55% of whom were new cases and 45% were people who had previously been assisted by municipal services. According to the councilor for Social Services and Equality, Lourdes Roca, this high proportion of new situations shows that "new cases continue to appear" and that prevention, detection, and support mechanisms need to be strengthened.

The annual service report confirms that 82% of the people assisted were practicing prostitution at the time of intervention, while 14% continued to be linked to this environment, despite having abandoned the activity. The most frequent requests were concentrated on social aid and attention to health problems.

Another significant figure is that 32% of the people assisted had been in prostitution environments for more than five years. In contrast, 68% had arrived more recently, a reality that, according to those responsible for the service, points to a constant incorporation of people into these circuits.

The majority profile continues to be foreign women. In fact, 97% of the people assisted were of foreign nationality, mainly from Latin American countries. Furthermore, 70% were in an irregular administrative situation, a circumstance that hinders access to resources, stable employment, and social integration processes.

Vulnerability

Vulnerability is also reflected in residential conditions. In more than half of the cases (51%), the place of residence coincided with the space where prostitution was practiced, a situation that network managers consider particularly worrying. Added to this is that 77% of the people served had dependents and relied on the income obtained to support them.

Despite these difficulties, 82% of the users were registered in Palma and 70% had a health card. However, the entities that make up the network – Casal Petit, Red Cross, and Doctors of the World – warn that situations of greater concealment often coincide with more obstacles to accessing basic rights and resources.

During the presentation of the report, the organizations called for more social, psychological, health, and labor resources to assist people in this situation. As they pointed out, many suffer serious difficulties in accessing decent housing and basic services, especially when factors such as social exclusion, economic precariousness, and administrative irregularity converge.

For her part, Lourdes Roca defended that this municipal resource is "essential" to guarantee the dignity of people in situations of prostitution and to promote the construction of life alternatives outside of these environments. The councilor also highlighted that, although women continue to be the majority group among those attended, in recent years attention to trans women and men has increased.