prostitutes working from home

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's conservative government has unveiled plans to crack down on prostitution, saying it wants to sweep streetwalkers out of public view and urge women to work from home under stricter rules.

A draft bill, approved by the cabinet on Friday, would seek to shoo away the hordes of scantily clad women who tout for business along the sides of roads in major cities and the countryside, while making it easier for women to work indoors.

It stops short of legalising brothels, however.

"This bill will tackle the growth in prostitution we've seen in recent decades, its spread across the streets, the growing role of organised crime in pimping and the spread of sexually transmitted illnesses," the cabinet said in a statement.

Under the bill, which has to be approved by both houses of parliament, prostitutes caught hawking in public would face on-the-spot fines for a first offence, and a penalty of up to 1,000 euros (dollars) and three months in jail if caught again.

Their clients could also be fined.

At the same time, women would be permitted to work indoors in what have been dubbed "co-operatives" as long as the other people in the building were okay with it, and as long as no more than two women were working from one apartment.

Landlords would not be penalised for renting to prostitutes.

Those who set up "co-operatives" would be provided with extra healthcare and would be subject to stringent checks for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

And for those that decide they want to give up prostitution, the bill makes provision for a "substantial increase" in social support, especially for foreigners.

Italy has an estimated 50,000-70,000 prostitutes, with about a third from outside the country, mostly from Nigeria. A fifth are believed to be under age, defined as less than 18, and more than half solicit outdoors.