Church leaders have condemned the Mayor of Rome’s decision to back the creation of a red-light district in the city.
The mayor, Ignazio Marino, announced proposals to centralise prostitution, which is legal in Italy, within the city’s southern business district last week.
Clients of prostitutes on non-designated streets would be fined up to €500 under the plan, which will launch on a trial basis in April.
Mr Marino told the Italian news channel TV RaiNews24 that designating spaces for prostitution would create safe spaces elsewhere in the city and could protect children from being exposed to the sex trade.
But the newspaper published by the Italian bishops, the weekly Avvenire, condemned the plans as “disgraceful” and warned that it aided the exploitation of women.
Giovanni Ramonda, of the lay-led Pope John XXIII Community, said Rome would be introducing "tolerance zones for the slavery of women", the English language Italian news site Local.It reported.
If the scheme is successful, it is proposed that three red-light districts are created in the city.
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