In Spain, Foreign Women Enslaved by a Boom in Brothel Tourism - by Suzzane Dailey

While the rest of Spain's economy may be struggling, experts say that prostitution -- almost all of it involving the ruthless trafficking of foreign women -- is booming, exploding into public view in small towns and big cities. The police recently rescued a 19-year-old Romanian woman from traffickers who had tattooed on her wrist a bar code and the amount she still owed them: more than $2,500.

In the past, most customers were middle-aged men. But the boom here, experts say, is powered in large part by the desires of young men -- many of them traveling in packs for the weekend -- taking advantage of Europe's cheap and nearly seamless travel.

"The young used to go to discos," said Francina Vila i Valls, Barcelona's councilor for women and civil rights. "But now they go to brothels. It's just another form of entertainment to them."

There is little reliable data on the subject. The State Department's 2010 report on trafficking said that 200,000 to 400,000 women worked in prostitution in Spain. The report said that 90 percent were trafficked.

For more: In Spain, Women Enslaved by a Boom in Brothel Tourism - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette