Merida, Yucatan — Prostitutes had been working the streets legally until a revision of the Police and Good Governance Regulation took place.
Sex workers in Merida are banned from plying their trade on public streets, a law that a rights organization said is discriminatory.
The group indicated the restriction not only costs workers income, but is also a violation of human rights and stigmatizing to sex workers.
La Unidad de Atención Sicológica, Sexológica y Educativa para el Crecimiento Personal, or Unasse, delivered a written complaint to the state Human Rights Commission (Codhey).
For adults 18 and over, prostitution in Mexico is legal under federal law although each state enacts its own restrictions, often demarcating red-light districts.
In Tuxtla Gutiérrez, capital of the state of Chiapas, the state goes so far as running a brothel.
Yucatan is not so liberal. But Codhey leader Miguel Sabido Santana declared that his office is analyzing the complaint.
In the Centro Histórico, sex workers historically patrolled the area of Calle 58 and 69, or around the San Benito market. In other neighborhoods, women — or men appearing as women — can be found on avenidas Itzaes and Canek.
Diario de Yucatan reported in 2018 that municipal legislators had not addressed the issue, either by regulations or attention from the health department.
An estimated 200 sex workers are active in Merida, working day and night, according to Diario. It was not clear how closely police are enforcing the new restriction.