The first sex worker’s co-operative has recently formed in Ibiza, the party island of Spain. Marking the country’s first union for prostitutes, The Sex Services Cooperative of Spain (Sealeer Co-operative) allows its members to obtain work permits, pay taxes, reap the benefits of health care, pension and get their first credit cards. There is an estimated 3,000 prostitutes on the island, with 11 which are members of Seeleer, while 40 more sex workers have applied—all of whom are women.

The collective’s president María José López Armesto, a 42-year-old housewife who is a spokesperson for the sex workers, told AFP the women are pioneers. “We are the first cooperative in Spain that can give legal cover to the girls,” she said.

While administration has yet to approve the union, Jaime Roig, an Ibiza lawyer who is an advisor to the Sealeer collective, said it is only a matter of time. “To my understanding, this should not be a problem and for once the administration should admit and accept the pure reality known as the oldest profession in the world,” he said.

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