Rereading the many letters, most of them not anonymous, that Lina Merlin received "from brothels" opens a door to the reality of misery and moral desolation of post-war Italy which involved a few thousand. women and their children in a sort of social ghetto from which it was very difficult to get out. The letters of consent that Lina Merlin receives offer, in a simple vocabulary and with dramatic clarity, very convincing arguments.
In these writings emerges are not the will to no longer be exploited in brothels controlled by the state, but above all the hope of finding a normal life putting all the ignoble harassments behind. bureaucratic and discriminatory rules that prevented the exercise of the most basic civil rights such as work or marriage with public employees. But the editors of the book have also published letters against the suppression of the "closed houses". Apart from those offensive or pointlessly polemics against the "moralist". Merlin, there are some that pose questions that are still open today. Some women claim the right to carry out their business as a profession, others express strong concern about the consequences of the approval of the law under discussion and do not believe that things can change, on the contrary they fear a worsening of their conditions. These last letters today must make us reflect.
The socialist senator, who from a young age was alongside Giacomo Matteotti in the anti-fascist fight, suffered the ccefi.no, participated in the Resistance and was elected to the Constituent Assembly by formulating the article of the Constitution which guaranteed equality between -keep it and women. With her bill, she had no illusions about abolishing prostitution, but she wanted to abolish its exploitation, even more so by the state.
Since 1958 all governments, of whatever color the Parliaments and political forces were, have always taken the line of tacit tolerance of the exploitation of prostitution.
Almost sixty years after the law came into effect, it can be argued that the legacy of Lina Merlin's work has been betrayed. The bureaucratic barriers that imprisoned the inhabitants of the "closed houses" have been demolished but the fight against the exploitation of prostitution is objectively marking time. Naturally we are not talking about those who freely choose to prostitute themselves.
The phenomenon of organized procuring has changed its face, but the reality is often far worse than in the past. Some mayors have thought of remedying this through sanctions. paid by “customers”. By itself, this measure would take people off the streets but it would not eliminate exploitation. Beyond the cultural and environmental aspects, something is needed that produces a concrete impact in the. prosecute all those who derive illicit benefits from the sex trade. But this is a political decision that would require the use of resources and energy by the institutions, if this goal is considered a real priority.
It would be significant that, starting from the associations involved in the women's front which claim the centrality of the female or "gender" question, a discussion would be initiated to arrive at concrete proposals. It would mean picking up the baton of Una Merlin to give continuity to her political and civil commitment.
°°°The author is the President of the Kuliscioff Foundation
