Government wants ‘tailor-made’ approach to prostitution reform

The government wants to come up with a 'tailor-made' programme for prostitution law reform, a spokesperson for the Parliamentary Secretary for reforms told The Malta Independent.

Parliamentary Secretary Julia Farrugia Portelli was tasked with overseeing the reform of prostitution laws.

This newsroom asked for an update on this reform, and whether they are moving towards the Nordic model of handling prostitution, or not. In 2017 this newsroom spoke with a number of women's rights activists, both local and internationally, who all seemed to back the Nordic model.

The Nordic approach to prostitution, which is also known as the 'Sex Buyer Law', decriminalises all those who are prostituted, provides support services to help them get out of prostitution and makes buying people for sex a criminal offence in order to reduce the demand that drives sex trafficking. The Nordic Model, which was pioneered in Sweden in 1999, makes it clear that buying people for sex is wrong and it has sanctions that discourage people from doing it.

The main goals of the model are: to curb the demand for commercial sex that fuels sex trafficking, and promote equality between men and women. In 2008, as part of an action plan against prostitution and human trafficking for sexual purposes, the Swedish government appointed a special committee of inquiry, known as the Committee of Inquiry to Evaluate the Ban against the Purchase of Sexual Services.

In response to questions sent by this newsroom, the government spokesperson said: "Work on the prostitution reform is progressing well. The working group entrusted with the drafting of the national action plan is currently engaging in extensive discussions with local and foreign stakeholders in order to understand the true realities of prostitution and sex work on the ground. The Government is interested in coming up with a tailor-made programme that fits the needs of the Maltese community."

Back in 2017, this newsroom spoke to The European Women's Lobby's - the largest women's umbrella organisation of women's organisations in the EU - Vice President Iliana Balabanova-Stoycheva, who stressed support for the Nordic model. "We support the Swedish (Nordic) model. There is no legislation at EU level, which is problematic". She said that the legalisation of prostitution would result in giving "clear signals that we accept violence against women, that we would like to live in a world where such violence is acceptable and natural."

She said that the Nordic model offers women the opportunity to find a different forms of jobs, assisting them to exit prostitution while not making it illegal for them to work as prostitutes.

She was not the only women's activist and volunteer to be interviewed by this newsroom at the time, and Grace Attard from the National Council of Women and Malta Confederation of Women's Organisations (MCWO) Chairwoman Lorraine Spiteri.

 

 

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