A report on the issue instead said more attention should be paid to the women
involved in the trade, by offering them more protection and trying to help them
to find different work.
In a debate in the Spanish congress, deputies voted to offer more public help
particuflarly to women who have been trafficked as sex slaves.
One measure suggested was aimed at trying to get men to stop using prostitutes.
It will also aim to persuade the media not to publish contact details of
prostitutes.
But quite how these measures might be carried out in practice was not made
clear.
The debate came after 80 experts had compiled a report on the issue.
The socialist government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is against legalising
prostitution at present but favours tougher measures against mafias which trade
in women.
According to the United Nations, Spain is one of the major destinations for sex
slaves in Europe.
The opposition conservative Popular Party is against relaxing of the current
laws.
The left wing IU-ICV alliance have called for legalisation.
In Catalonia, there is a pilot programme to regulate prostitution in the same
way as in Germany or Holland.
Sex workers would manage the brothels and prostitution would be legal for
people over 21.
