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Meanwhile, hundreds of young girls trapped in paid love, trafficking of women and drugs, find themselves on the streets selling their bodies for pennies. They are afraid to talk to the authorities and give up the gangs, which exploit them, they have no papers, they do not visit a doctor and put at direct risk their own health and that of thousands of others.

The situation has got out of control. It is becoming a booming underground economy, with a turnover approaching that of soft drugs. The fact that illegal profits, in the historical centre of Athens alone, exceed 100 million Euros annually, says it all.

This is an astronomical amount for the City of Athens, which loses huge amounts of municipal taxes, as most brothels operate illegally.

The law allows the issuance of a permit to practice this profession only to unmarried women over 50 years of age, and brothels should be located at a distance of at least 200 metres from schools, churches, playgrounds, etc.

One of the suggestions of the Municipality of Athens, is for this distance to be reduced to 100 metres and to have more stringent penalties for owners of illegal brothels. Also, the possibility of stopping electricity and water in illegal brothels is being considered.