Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1180732
6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 30 OCTOBER 2019 NEWS JAMES DEBONO MALTESE law does not criminalise the act of selling sex but punishes loitering and those living off the earnings of pros- titution. Other countries have opted for dif- ferent models ranging from recognis- ing sex work as a job like any other, as in New Zealand, to criminalising clients who buy sex as happens in Sweden and France. The Nordic model The Nordic model approach to prosti- tution decriminalises all those who are prostituted, provides support services to help them exit, and makes buying peo- ple for sex a criminal offence, in order to reduce the demand that drives sex traf- ficking. This approach has now been adopted in Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Ireland, Canada, France, and most recently, Is- rael. The model is intended to cut demand on what proponents say is an inherently violent and misogynistic trade. In Norway, activities associated with sex work are criminalised, including "promotion of prostitution" and allow- ing premises to be used for selling sex. The New Zealand model New Zealand has repealed all laws that had been used to criminalise sex work- ers. But unlike other countries, which regulate prostitution, sex work is not re- stricted to licenced brothels. The law was itself promoted by the New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective (NZPC), an organisation that supports sex workers' rights and educates prosti- tutes about minimising the risks of the job. The aim of the law was to decriminal- ise prostitution and safeguard the hu- man rights of sex workers, while pro- tecting them from exploitation. In New Zealand, sex workers are al- lowed to work in managed brothels with no size restrictions, or to work as equals with colleagues, or to work alone. Street prostitution has also been legal- ised. Brothel operators have to obtain a certificate from Auckland District Court. Up to four sex workers can work together, as equals, without requiring an operators' certificate – so long as no one is in control of anyone else or their work. Sex workers have a legal right to de- cline clients without providing a reason. The laws pertaining to sex work are the same as those for other workplaces; sex workers are able to have the same labour rights as workers in other occupations. They are entitled to workplace protec- tions and access to healthcare. It is also illegal to do sex work if you are visiting New Zealand on a temporary visa. The German model Prostitution in Germany is legal, as are other aspects of the sex industry, includ- ing brothels and advertisement. Sex work is regulated by the German government, which levies taxes on it. In 2016, the government adopted a new law, the Prostitutes Protection Act, in an effort to improve the legal situa- tion of sex workers. But the law initially meant to empower sex workers has failed to stem the ex- ploitation of women from Eastern and South eastern Europe. A new law passed in 2017 prohibits flat-rate brothels and gang-bang parties, in which a sex worker must service several men concurrently. Also, sex without a condom is prohib- ited. Furthermore, clients who know- ingly make use of the services provided by people who have been forced into prostitution are penalised. Other regulatory systems Tunisian sex workers working in li- censed brothels who wish to leave their jobs must obtain authorisation from the police and demonstrate they can earn a living through "honest" means. Those who operate outside these regu- lations are still criminalised, without protection of the law. Malta presently follows the UK model where prostitution itself (the exchange of sexual services for money) is legal, but a number of related activities, in- cluding soliciting in a public place, kerb crawling, owning or managing a brothel, pimping and pandering, are crimes. In Northern Ireland, which previously had similar laws, paying for sex became illegal from 1 June 2015. How the Nordic and New Zealand models fared The Nordic model has been effective in reducing the demand for paid sexual services. Prostitution hasn't been eliminated, but surveys indicate that the percentage of Swedish men who buy sex dropped by half as has the number of prostitutes. The decrease in the demand for pros- titution is linked to a reduction in traf- ficking. But the Nordic model, which criminal- ises clients, has been criticised by lead- ing human rights organisation Amnesty International for making sex workers more vulnerable to the demands of cli- ents and for perpetuating the stigma against sex workers. To avoid police detection, sex workers increasingly rely on customers to pro- vide a place to work where they may be more exposed to violence and abuse. Amnesty's researchers spoke to 54 people in Norway, including police of- ficers, prosecutors, academics, social science providers and 30 sex workers, including three victims of trafficking. "I went to the house of a man. He punched me two times in the jaw. I didn't tell the police. I don't want it on my records," one sex worker told Am- nesty International. The report found that workers remain "at high risk of violence and abuse" but rarely turn to the police. One sex worker told Amnesty: "If a cus- tomer is bad, you need to manage it your- self to the end. You only call the police if you think you're going to die. If you call the police, you risk losing everything." Under Norway's laws, sex workers are at risk of forced evictions as their landlords can be prosecuted for renting property to them if they sell sex there. A representative of a Norwegian sex workers' rights organisation explained: "If landlords don't evict, the police will launch a criminal case against them... The police are encouraging landlords to take the law into their own hands and enforce it themselves." People who do sex work are also un- able to work together for safety, or hire From New Zealand to Sweden Different ways to regulate sex In Germany, sex work is regulated by the government, which levies taxes on it