This newspaper reported on Saturday how several women have complained about the way they are being spoken to, in front of other customers, when going to certain pharmacies to buy emergency contraception.

Unfortunately, this seems to be a common occurrence in this country, despite the fact that the Morning After Pill (MAP) has been legal since 2016.

One of those who recounted their recent experiences in a Facebook group said the pharmacist had bombarded her with personal and inappropriate questions, and this was done not on the side, or in another room, but in a shop full of customers.

The woman, who remained anonymous, described feeling “miserable” after being told by the judgmental pharmacist that it was irresponsible to try to “cover everything with the pill.”

Another woman said she had gone to a pharmacy in Swieqi where a pharmacist not only asked who she had had sex with and why he was not wearing a condom, but also took down details of her ID card. “I understand questions about when I had sex or whether I have any medical conditions, but the questions I was asked felt like they were intended to judge and shame,” she wrote.

One may or may not agree with the introduction of this form of contraception, which some argue can be abortifacient, but we should all agree that no person should ever be ridiculed and embarrassed in the ways described by these women.

Contacted by this newsroom, the Chamber of Pharmacists said that there are guidelines in place that should be followed. The chamber said pharmacists ask certain questions “in the best interest and safety of the women requesting it.”

It added, however, that pharmacists are encouraged to carry out such conversations in the best confidential way possible.

One does not need a prescription to purchase the MAP but pharmacists can refuse to sell the contraception based on their professional judgment or conscience.

In the cases mentioned above, the objecting pharmacists could have simply said that they were not comfortable selling the Morning After Pill and stopped there. Instead, the customers were subjected to embarrassment.

Replying to our questions, the Chamber of Pharmacists said it had not received any complaints, and should it receive any it would remind its members of the previously issued guidelines.

People who go through such experiences should not stop at posting their complaint on closed Facebook pages. If they feel that they were embarrassed by the behaviour of a pharmacist they should send a report to the chamber, same as would be expected with any other profession.

One more point that was raised in the Facebook comments thread is the placing of other items that customers might feel embarrassed asking for, such as condoms and pregnancy tests. While these could be placed on shelves where they could be discreetly picked up by the customer, in several cases they are placed high up on the shelves behind the counter, meaning that customers have to ask for them in front of other people.

There are no specific requirements as to how such products are placed. All pharmacists should ensure that customers can obtain such produces in a discrete way, especially given the way in which the subject of sex is still regarded as a taboo by many in Malta.