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MALTATODAY 4 September 2019 Midweek

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4 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 4 SEPTEMBER 2019 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 "We must give these individu- als – people in need of empow- erment – other options," said said. With this in mind, she said that government was proposing the establishment of a state-run programme led by profession- als to help those who wanted to leave the industry. A second proposal, she said, was the implementation of a system that allowed those with a criminal record linked with prostitution to clean their crim- inal record and be able to start a new life. The changes being proposed, Farrugia Portelli said, were in- tended to remove the stigma associated with prostitution. "If we are going to keep threat- ing these people as criminals, we are going to make it im- possible for them to seek help, report the people exploiting them, seek medical services or enter the regular job market." Farrugia Portelli emphasised that the reforms were being proposed together with addi- tion reforms on human traf- ficking, an area she said had been neglected for many years. "We have left people among us to suffer, and this reform needs to not only find the tools to fight this industry, but to prevent it," she said. She said that her secretariat would continue meeting and hearing out stakeholders with the aim of having a national strategy on human trafficking in place by next year. One of the proposed reforms includes the streamlining of referral mechanisms, which will see a multi-disciplinary ap- proach for the identification of human trafficking victims. Furthermore, the identified victims will be provided with a coordinated approach to help them in undergoing respect- ful medical and psychologi- cal examinations, applying for residence documents and in seeking alternative legal em- ployment. "We must help the victims in not only escaping the unforgiv- ing situations they are in, but also in reintegrating back into society," Farrugia Portelli said. The reform will also be look- ing into strengthening the in- vestigation into human traffick- ing while also facilitating access to compensation and legal sup- port. Regulation of massage parlours The reform will also be look- ing to have clear rules on "so- called gentleman's clubs". "These changes, shouldn't, and won't simply be cosmetic changes on how we refer to these places. What was accept- able before might no longer be acceptable today, and the first decisions we need to take are those that look after the inter- est of those that work in these establishments," Farrugia Por- telli said. She said that both the own- ers of such establishments and their patrons needed to know exact what is and isn't accept- able. Moreover, the junior minis- ter said that government also wanted massage parlours, a considerable number of which are known to offer sexual ser- vices, to be regulated. "Government is not consid- ering legislation that will al- low these places to be used as brothels," she said, adding that the measure was intend- ed to protect the interests of those who were qualified to offer legitimate massage ser- vices. She said government would be proposing that only those who are qualified be allowed to operate in the sector. The government will also be looking to regulate temping agencies, which offer to find temporary employment to cli- ents. Unlike recruitment agen- cies, Farrugia Portelli said that these agencies were not government by any existing legislation. She said that a discussion needed to be had on whether the existing legal framework was protecting workers and whether there needed to be more obligations on those running such agencies. Farrugia Portelli said that all the proposals put forward merited a serious and open discussion that was free of partisan politics. Massage parlours to be regulated Parliamentary secretary Julia Farrugia Portelli A 50-year-old man has drowned at Gozo's Ramla l- Hamra Bay. A second 51-year-old man has been hospitalised after encountering diffi- culties swimming on Tues- day afternoon. The two men, both Eng- lish, were brought to shore and administered CPR by bathers at the beach. A medical team from the Gozo General Hospital ar- rived on the scene but the 50-year-old man was certi- fied dead on the spot. The second man's condi- tion was not yet known at the time of going to print. A magisterial inquiry has been launched as police in- vestigations continue. The two men were swim- ming despite the fact that the beach was flying a dou- ble red warning flag - indi- cating that the sea is dan- gerous for swimming. Man drowns at Ramla l-Hamra MATTHEW VELLA A Cottonera civil action group has called on residents to file objections against the extensions of the American University of Malta on Dock No 1, at Bormla. The group, 'Azzjoni: Tuna Artna Lura' (Give Us Back Our Land) said it wants interested parties to sign a petition and participate in other actions the group is organizing in the run-up to a Planning Authority hearing on 26 September. "The civil action group was formed when it transpired that, contrary to the popular belief of residents, and even me- dia reports stating otherwise, none of the Cottonera local councils have objected to the development," spokesperson Dr Andrea Dibben said. "Bormla and Senglea (Isla) local coun- cils did send formal letters to the PA, objecting only to the depletion of public parking places which would result from the development. Only Senglea council- lor Malcolm Gatt put in an objection as an individual, flagging up concerns also about loss of open and community space, as well as heritage considerations. Other objectors voicing these multiple con- cerns were Forum Kumunita Bormliża, Għaqda Dilettanti Sajjieda Barklori Isla, Flimkien Għal Ambient Aħjar, Din L-Art Ħelwa, Futur Ambjent Wieħed and sev- eral individuals." Labour MP Glenn Bedingfield recently raised some of these concerns publicly. "Despite several cited planning policy violations, the project is being recom- mended for approval by the case offic- ers," Dibben said. The PA application involves the con- struction of an administrative building between the British and the Knights Building. This building would be in place of the current open community space, recently upgraded with EU funding on the Dock 1 waterfront. The AUM would also take over the Knights Building, add- ing two floors to it and extending it with a "new wing". This increase in height will block the view of the Senglea fortifica- tions from Dock 1 and the view will be further blocked by the "new wing" ex- tension, which will also take up further open, communal space on the Dock 1 waterfront. The application for the building of a dormitory and car park, on an open plot with heritage remains, on St Paul's Street is also part of the "campus masterplan". However this part of the AUM extension application's decision has for now been postponed Cottonera activists urge residents to petition against AUM extension

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