Sex work cannot be legitimised, says Malta Women’s Lobby

The Malta Women’s Lobby joined the chorus of disapproval at any proposal to normalise prostitution as sex work.

It said that if this becomes the case “it is only a matter of time before prostitution is promoted in schools as a legitimate career choice, and advertised in broad daylight as an acceptable avenue for young women and girls, as happens in other countries where it has been legalised.”

The MWL welcomed a statement by junior minister Rosianne Cutajar, who acknowledged in parliament that thousands of people become prostitutes against their own will, either because they have drug problems or a pimp…”

“Prostitution is not a choice, but a trap. The overwhelming majority of prostitutes prefer to find an alternative means of survival and they would exit this trade if they could,” the MWL said.

However, the MWL also said the Parliamentary Secretary had wrongly implied that the issue was ‘judging or shaming’ individuals in the sex trade. The focus has to be to provide opportunities and prioritise equality for all, it said.

Loitering and soliciting for the purpose of prostitution and living off the earnings of prostitution are crimes in Malta, but prostitution per se is not.

“A legal sex trade without any sanctions on the buyer as is being proposed, sends out the message that it is ok to buy women’s bodies, and will reflect how women are valued in our society,” argued the MWL.

It urged the government to understand that prostitution is a form of sexual exploitation and abuse for most of the persons involved. “Rather than creating an open season for buyers, pimps and traffickers, a new law needs to protect the vulnerable that fall through the safety net.”

These are vulnerable members of our society and we have a duty to protect them by sanctioning the buyer, pimps and traffickers who always have more power and control over them, said the lobby.

It added that in countries where prostitution is legalised, prostitution has not only massively increased on a commercial level, but has also flourished underground. It also attracted sex tourism, pointed out the MWL, asking whether this was the type of tourist Malta wanted.

The sex market was also strongly connected to criminal activity such as organised crime, drug trade, assault, sexual violence and money laundering. “If we do not understand how engrained this criminality is in this business, we will not seek to eradicate it, but instead accept a defeatist attitude that allows it to grow. The sex trade is not merely a business; it is a vicious parasite that embeds itself into the fabric of our society, our cultural identity and it will affect the relations between genders.”

“A legal sex trade does not simply enable those who freely and willingly choose to engage in prostitution, but creates a business incentive for the sex trade and trafficking to grow. It teaches young boys and men that it is acceptable and normal to buy sex, and grooms many young girls and women (especially those going through difficulties) into believing that selling sex is the best career prospect they can aspire to. It also opens the doors to pimps and traffickers and sends the message that Malta is open for the business of exploitation.”