Valencian authorities launch campaigns against sexual exploitation

Authorities and equality networks in the Valencian Community have launched coordinated awareness campaigns to combat sexual exploitation and human trafficking, coinciding with the International Day against Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of Women, Girls, and Children on September 23.

The Generalitat Valenciana’s campaign, titled ‘La prostitución vive aquí’ (Prostitution lives here), warns that sexual exploitation is increasingly moving from visible locations like clubs and roadsides into private residential apartments, making it harder to detect. The initiative aims to raise social awareness and directly target consumers with messages such as ‘Do not call’ and ‘Do not enter.’

Simultaneously, the Xarxa d’Igualtat de la Marina Alta and MACMA have deployed a regional campaign focusing on the responsibility of the consumer and the ‘social pact of silence.’ This campaign utilizes local proverbs recontextualized with statistics, such as noting that 1 in 4 men in Alicante admit to consuming prostitution. It also highlights that 24% of minor victims of sexual exploitation were contacted via OnlyFans and 36% through sugar dating websites.