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Prostitution in the Spanish Civil War was part of a larger ideological battle about the role of women and race. Opposition to it came from both first-wave feminists and fascists, who would often have connections to beliefs about racial purity in their condemnation of prostitution. Accusations of prostitution would also be made to damage political and social enemies.
In the modern pre-Second Republic period, prostitution was illegal in Spain, though in the latter period, efforts were made to legalize it under the justification that it would assist in improving people's health by better addressing the spread of venereal disease.
During the Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, being a labeled a prostitute could be a disqualifier from participating in public life. Women in the anarchist CNT opposed prostitution as part of wider efforts related to women's emancipation.