I met Dr Anna Borg a lecturer and director of the Centre for Labour Studies at the University of Malta, Dr Roderick Bugeja, a lecturer and researcher in the area of sexual health, Dr Mary Muscat, a lecturer and former police inspector who trains law enforcement officers in substantive criminal law and Marie Therese Gatt who has a background in psychology and has worked with victims and perpetrators of abuse.  They all make part of the newly set-up organisation, Association for Equality. 

Following that meeting I decided to interview Dr Anna Borg on the cause they are championing:

What do you feel are the main issues 'we' are failing to take into consideration in this debate?

First of all, we need to ask some important and delicate questions that we seem to be choosing to ignore.

Prostitution is not illegal in Malta, so what exactly is government planning to regulate, maybe pimping and soliciting?

Do we want Malta to become a hub for the sex industry in the Mediterranean and in the process generate more revenue for brothel owners and pimps?

There are many issues that we seem to be failing to take into consideration, however, I will focus on the two most important ones.

Firstly, for the vast majority of women and girls who find themselves in prostitution this is not a conscious free choice and in nearly all cases it is a case of exploiting the vulnerable. This happens because for a large segment of girls and women in prostitution, the entry age is below 18 years of age (EU, 2014). Research also shows that girls are groomed as early as 12-14 years of age.  These girls typically come from troubled backgrounds and from dysfunctional families (issues of mental health, or addictions or people who were brought up in institutional care) where it is easier to groom them into this ‘lucrative’ trade whilst they are still so young. Others enter into prostitution once they become hooked on drugs or they feel desperate and think they have no other option how to earn money.

Secondly, opening up the sex trade means an increase in trafficked (vulnerable) girls/ women and boys/men/trans to service the industry and keep the ‘Johns’ (the prostitute’s customer) happy.

Why?

Simple logic. Increased demand as a result of legalisation raises the issue of increased supply.

Where will the girls/women and boys/gay men/trans come from if there are not enough volunteers who want to be prostituted? The answer is: ‘Trafficking or tricking them into thinking they are going to be doing other work and then leading them into this lifestyle’.   Nearly all prostituted persons indicate that they want to leave that line of work but they do not see a way out.

Do you consider this to be a ‘gender issue?

Most definitely! 

Over 85% of prostituted persons are female. The rest are trans, gay men and straight men. In 99% of the cases, these people are in prostitution to service men/’Johns’.  Hence, this is clearly a gender issue where the bodies of women, men and trans persons are commodified and used by ‘Johns’ in a patriarchal society.  Men decide that a subset of persons (in their vast majority girls and women) are ‘legitimately’ bought and sold to satisfy their so called ‘uncontrollable lust’.  The European’s Women Lobby, all local women’s NGOs and the EU recognise this and are against the liberalisation of prostitution because of its devastating effect on those caught in this trade.

What are the push factors that encourage women to take on this line of work?

Misery, vulnerability and dire financial problems are the biggest push factors.  No girl generally aspires to be used as a recipient for men to ejaculate on or to have unwanted sex activity or to put herself at risk of disease or to have a sexual relationship with someone who has enough money to use ‘her’.  Apart from that drug and drink addictions can also act as a push factors.

Can you give us a snapshot of what is happening at the moment?

In countries where they opened up the sex-trade things have degenerated fast.

The sex industry expanded out of control and hence the number of vulnerable people being lured/ tricked/trafficked into the trade have increased as well.  

Here are some facts and figures that might illustrate my point:

·         In the Netherlands, an estimated 60-70% of the women in prostitution were forced by criminal groups (EU, 2014).

·         In Germany, 87% of prostituted persons suffered physical violence, 50% showed symptoms of depression and 25% contemplated suicide.

Apart from that, in New Zealand the Trafficking in Person Report issued by the US Department of State in 2017, noted shortcomings and recommends that they “increase efforts to identify victims through proactive screening of vulnerable populations, including women and children in prostitution” and to “amend the law to define the sex trafficking of children as not requiring the use of force, fraud, or coercion”. Furthermore, they are being urged to “expand anti-trafficking awareness campaigns; and engage in efforts to reduce demand of forced labour, including in supply chains, and sexual commercial exploitation, especially of children and foreign women”.

In New Zealand “foreign women from Asia are at risk of sex trafficking. Some international students and temporary visa holders are vulnerable to forced labour or prostitution. A small number of Pacific islands and New Zealand (often of Maori descent) girls and boys are at a high risk of sex trafficking. Some children are recruited by other girls or compelled by family members into sex trafficking” (TIPR, Report, 2017). Furthermore, in spite of claiming to bring safety to prostitutes, at least five prostituted women have been murdered since 2003. In one case a 24-year-old woman was strangled, bound, raped and run over after an argument with a ‘John’ resulting from his refusal to use a condom (Gerlich, 2018).   In all countries where it was legalised, it did not reduce the stigma of prostitutes as was envisaged, or more so their protection and safety.

What is the 'model ‘of your choice should this country should consider adopting?

The Nordic Model. 

This is endorsed by the EU, the European Women’s Lobby and all local organisations working to protect girls and women and who lobby for gender equality.  This model has been implemented by forward looking countries who have adopted a feminist stance including: Sweden, Iceland, Norway, France, Canada, Northern Ireland and Ireland. In this model, prostitution is considered to be a form of violence against women and is not tolerated because it is harmful to those involved and to society in general.  Furthermore, this model recognises that those involved are likely to be victims of circumstances and the power dynamics between these victims and the power of the ‘Johns’ (who have the money) and pimps (who earn the money) are not equal.

Why can't sex work according to you be considered like any 'another' job?

‘Sex work’ is the favourite word of pimps and those involved in trying to legitimise the sex industry.  It gives a nice veneer to an ugly underside which is often tainted and interlinked with crime, trafficking and drugs.  ‘Sex work’ normalises all of this and renders it as a normal job, when clearly it is not.  No other job comes carries such high risks and such a high degree of violence for those involved. No other job is as lucrative for pimps and so it is understandable that they want to normalise sex work.

 

Do you have empirical evidence of what prostitutes want?

 

International research suggests that up to 89% of prostituted persons indicate that they want to leave but they do not see a way out or another viable option to survive.  Local research carried out with prostituted persons who make use of Dar Hosea clearly indicated that they do not want prostitution to be legalised.  We can draw parallels with Germany where less than one per cent of prostitutes registered themselves as prostitutes.

Why are you against the legislation of prostitution?

Regularising prostitution would mean regularising abuse and violence against a group which is already vulnerable.  Can you ever regularise abuse or violence just because it is a lucrative business?  The answer is clearly ‘No’.  Legalising prostitution is a gift to pimps, traffickers and those who stand to gain from it.  Legalising prostitution would mean legalised harm for the benefit of the few whilst society picks up the cost which comes in the form of more people falling ill due to physical (HIV and Aids, Syphilis, Gonorrhoea, HPV leading to cancer, Herpes) and mental health problems (Violence, Post-traumatic stress disorders, Depression, attempted suicides, drug taking, drink problems).  Furthermore, decrimalisation will simply encourage more people, especially those coming from poor or abusive backgrounds and school dropouts to use prostitution as any other option to make a living.

What are you inviting politicians to take in cognizance once this issue starts being debated in Parliament?

That they need to take a stand.

They can either take the side of the pimps and ‘Johns’ and brothel owners and close their eyes to the ugly underside of prostitution that feeds on the vulnerable or else, they choose to protect the vulnerable, the weak and the poor and recognise that prostitution is a form of violence against them and decide to stop it by making the buying of sex illegal.  They cannot stand on the fence.

The selling of organs has been made illegal across the world.  So, if selling one’s organs is not allowed, should putting your whole body for sale be made legal?  There is something incredibly inconsistent here that does not make sense to us. 

What do you predict the impact of this matter will be on society if we regularize this issue?

We are no different from other countries when it comes to prostitution.  Look at what happened in Germany, the Netherlands and New Zealand.  Malta with the wrong decisions risks becoming a Mecca for the sex industry. With an increase in demand, the number of prostituted and trafficked women will risk surging exponentially thus leading to the victimisation of yet more girls and women to service the increased demand from the ‘Johns’ and pimps.