[WATCH] No mandate to legalise brothels, parliamentary secretary says

Reforms Parliamentary Secretary Julia Farrugia Portelli says government’s mandate is to ensure prostitutes do not continue to be criminalised

The Labour Party was elected on a pledge to initiate a debate on 'regularisation and decriminalisation' of prostitution
The Labour Party was elected on a pledge to initiate a debate on 'regularisation and decriminalisation' of prostitution
Reforms Parliamentary Secretary Julia Farrugia Portelli is driving the changes to Malta's prostitution laws

Brothels will not be legalised as government considers reforms that will stop criminalising prostitutes, Julia Farrugia Portelli has told MaltaToday.

The Reforms Parliamentary Secretary said government had a mandate to help victims by giving them the opportunity to exit prostitution.

“We do not have a mandate to start opening brothels from tomorrow but a mandate to help prostitutes and ensure they are no longer considered criminals,” Farrugia Portelli said.

She was talking to MaltaToday on the fringes of a conference on human trafficking this morning. The conference was organised by the Association for Equality, Dar Hosea, a walk-in centre for prostitutes run by the St Jeanne Antide Foundation, and the Centre for Labour Studies at the University of Malta.

The Labour Party was elected on a pledge to “start a debate on regularisation and decriminalisation of prostitution”. However, the electoral manifesto also stated that the main aim of the debate would be to protect vulnerable persons from being exploited as sex workers.

It remains unclear what direction the government will take, with various women’s rights groups clamouring for a Nordic model that criminalises the clients of prostitutes rather than the prostitutes themselves.

Others argue that legalising prostitution will help bring more controls to the sector and offer greater protection for prostitutes and clients alike.

Farrugia Portelli said the government was in the process of talking to all stake holders on the matter, adding that the administration was adamant on clamping down on human trafficking.

“Three quarters of human trafficking cases in Malta are work-related and greater efforts by Identity Malta to identify these cases have led, in one instance, to smashing a ring and helping 14 victims,” the parliamentary secretary said.