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Male Prostitute Among 6 Sex Workers Charged With Loitering In Malta This Year

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With reform to the sex work industry on the horizon, new figures have revealed that six prostitutes have been arrested and charged with loitering during the first nine months of 2019.

Tabled by Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia, the statistics show that the majority of prostitutes are female, with just one man among the six person group.

The figure, however, is misleading as to the number of prostitute in Malta, since it fails to identify the move of sex workers from the streets into more hidden establishments. In fact, seven arrests on prostitution-related charges were made across a chain of Chinese massage parlours in September.

The numbers present one clear theory; while sex work still exists in parts of Paceville, ‘massage’ parlours, and on the streets of Gżira and Marsa (to name a few), authorities show that they often turn a blind eye to prostitution.

A Times of Malta report found that in 2018, the police carried out just 17 inspections on massage parlours, for example, resulting in 15 arraignments on a variety of charges, which include human trafficking, sexual exploitation and breaches of employment law.

Prostitution itself is not illegal in Malta. However, it is illegal to live “off the immoral earnings of prostitution”, loitering with intent, and solicit. Keeping, managing, or receiving profits from a brother is also illegal.

The debate over reform rages on in Malta, with one side arguing for full legalisation and regulation and others calling for the decriminalisation of prostitutes and the criminalisation of those who buy sex.

While people argue that prostitutes should be free to choose their own line of work without interference, others say that the reality of prostitution is far different from proponents arguing that its a free choice for people looking to earn good money.

Strip clubs and massage parlous, which are seriously under-regulated and often suspects of hosting sex workers, are also expected to form part of the reform.

READ NEXT: Sex Buyers Should Be Prosecuted And Malta’s Strip Clubs Closed, Coalition Argues

Julian is the former editor of Lovin Malta and has a particular interest in politics, the environment, social issues, and human interest stories.

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