Decriminalising prostitution without criminalising buyers is a 'backward' move, rights groups warn

Human rights NGOs have criticised the governments’ decision to "ditch" a proposal to make it criminal to buy sex in its plans to decriminalise prostitution.

Making the buying of sex a crime is described as the Nordic Model and was first introduced in Scandinavian countries.

A group of 40 NGOs that work in various social fields, including human rights, have been calling for sex buying to be made a crime, while ensuring that prostitutes do not end up arrested and taken to court.

But in a joint statement on Monday, the NGOs hit out at comments made by Reforms Parliamentary Secretary Rosianne Cutajar, who told Lovin Malta that government will move to decriminalise prostitution without criminalising sex clients.

"Ditching the Nordic Model is an insult to women and would take Malta backwards," the NGOs said.

The NGOs also took to task the website's reportage that included references to the opinions of government advisor Robert Musumeci and Malta Council for Science and Technology Council chairperson Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, who oppose the criminalisation of sex clients. It is unclear in what capacity the opinions of these two individuals were quoted in the article but the NGOs took umbrage at what they interpreted as government's decision to give weight to their views rather than those of 40 NGOs.

"How can we believe that government has gender equality at heart if the same government wants to continue facilitating the commodification and objectification of women’s bodies?” the statement read.

The Nordic Model decriminalises all those who are prostituted, provides support services to help them exit, and makes buying people for sex a criminal offence, to reduce the demand that drives sex trafficking. This approach has now been adopted in Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Canada, France, Ireland, and most recently, Israel.

READ ALSO: From New Zealand to Sweden: Different ways to regulate sex work

The NGOs argued that decriminalising the selling of sex without criminalising the buying provides a very attractive situation for traffickers, pimps and johns to continue to exploit and denigrate women.

They warned that decriminalising prostitution without criminalising the buyer will open the floodgates for trafficking, and risks turning Malta into a mecca for sex tourism.

"The Prime Minister himself noted how he can’t understand ‘why the client doesn’t get punished but the prostitute gets sent to jail’. On this, the NGOs are in full agreement with the Prime Minister, and hence the shock when it was announced yesterday that this model is being ditched," they added.

The NGOs noted that the core expert group whose proposal was endorsed by over 40 organisations, which included the vast majority of women’s organisations and academics who work in the field, urged the government "not to rush" into a decision, and to rely on experts who have "significant knowledge of consequences of inappropriate and inadequate laws to protect against human trafficking and exploitation".

"The core group is hoping that government will not rely on uninformed opinion, but respect the evidence-based conclusions drawn by civil society and all those who endorsed the proposal for the Nordic Model," the NGOs said.

The groups took umbrage at Cutajar's statement when the consultation process was still ongoing and NGOs were due to be heard on 4 March in Parliament's Social Affairs Committee. "If the Prime Minister really wants us to believe him when he says that things are better where women are involved, government should not ignore the advice and expertise of women and experts in the field, on something that directly concerns them."

Who's advice should carry ‘more weight?’

Taking to social media, lawyer and women's rights campaigner Lara Dimitrijevic said that it was experts’ in the field that should carry more weight on this decision.

"On the one hand, there are 40 NGOs, inclusive of experts on labour, human trafficking, people that work the ground with victims of trafficking and prostitution, not to mention backed up by largest women's rights organisations in Europe and by several EU countries with much more experience and knowledge in this field and on other hand, we have two Maltese men, advisers to the government. In which way can their advice carry more weight than all others mentioned above?” Dimitrijevic asked.

Dimitrijevic said while she respected and was in no way doubting their professional ability, she could not help but question their expertise in the field.