Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1345126
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 FEBRUARY 2021 INTERVIEW to the expertise of these other NGOs: some of them working at rock-bottom level? This is why we are concerned with the direction taken by these reforms. If we're not go- ing to look at the interests of the people who will be directly affected… then whose interests are we looking at, really? This brings us to the substance of your own recommendations. What, specifically, are you proposing… and how would it improve the situation of the vulnerable people caught up in prostitution? To put it simply: we agree with the decriminalization of the prostitutes themselves. What we also need to do, however, is to criminalise the buyer. As I said, I'm not the expert, myself; what I can say, however – with- out going into the legal specifics – is that it's ultimately a ques- tion of where we want to go, as a country. There are different models to choose from: and if we are ad- vocating the Nordic model, it is not just because it has proven to be consistently successful; but also because the Scandinavi- an countries are so many steps ahead of everyone else, when it comes to gender equality. Not just Malta, but anywhere in the world: including America, and other European countries. It seems, however, that the re- form has looked towards other models: such as Germany, for instance – where prostitution is fully legalised. And the situation in Germany is… again, I'm not the right person to talk about it; but ask the experts, and they will all tell you that there are al- most entire department stores, where you can go and simply choose from a menu. This is precisely the sort of sit- uation that the reform, as it is being proposed, will create in Malta. But… is it really the di- rection we want to go? Having said this: there are women – or men – who want this kind of life; who take a conscious decision to work in that industry. Good luck to them. But the reality is that the vast majority are forced into it, through circumstances beyond their control. So what is hap- pening with this law? Generally, we create our laws to defend the most vulnera- ble members of society. In this case, however, it's the other way round: we are creating a law that only adds more burdens and pressures, on an already vulnerable majority… The counter-argument, how- ever, is that criminalisation would only drive the industry underground, where it would be more open to abuse. How does your proposal address that? Because if it is against the law to buy sex, the pimp cannot make a business out of it… Not legally, no. But pimping – or 'living off the earnings of prostitution' – is already illegal under the current legislation; yet it happens all the same. Why would it be any different under the Nordic model? But just because something goes underground, it doesn't mean we should simply con- done it… or, worse still, put it 'above ground'. We should try and control it as much as pos- sible. This is what we our proposals are aimed at; but with this re- form, we are heading in the op- posite direction. And that only gives more power to the pimp, not less. The question we should be asking, before embarking on any reform, is: who gains from all this? It is certainly not the prostitute. Nor is it even the buyer… who very often will have a story of his own to tell. No, it is the pimp who con- trols everything; and who takes advantage of the both prostitute and buyer. This is where all the money goes, at the end of the day. Even from the perspective of those who choose prostitution as a career: by all means, let them go out and do it… but at least, they should be the ones earning the money for the work they do; it shouldn't be a pimp who takes the lion's share. But if prostitution is decrim- inalised for the women con- cerned – and we agree it should be – but the act of buying sex is not criminalised… then it's just a free-for-all. The pimp could simply open a shop on any street corner… Earlier, you mentioned that Empower is involved in all women's issues, not just prostitution. But while there appears to be consensus re- garding the prostitution re- form… that doesn't seem to be the case for gender quotas for Parliament. Even some women in local politics have argued that quotas are 'demean- ing to women'. Others argue that women will end up being elected, not on their merits, but 'just because they're wom- en'. As someone who approves of gender quotas, how do you respond to that? Let me start with this: gender quotas are a necessary evil. In an ideal world, we would already have reached a level of gender equality that would make them unnecessary; but we are very far from that, right now… and unless a mechanism is in place to ensure at least some gender balance in Parliament, the reali- ty is that nothing will ever really change at all. Besides: there has always been a quota system in place, wheth- er people realise it or not. At present, the quota system be- ing proposed by the EU is 6:4. But for centuries, it has always been: 10-0. In other words, 100% male, 0% female. And let's face it: many of those men were not elected to power 'on their own mer- it', or because of their sheer brilliance… but, as you put it in your question: 'just because they were men'. And as far as I know, no one has ever complained that that is 'demeaning to men'… But to answer you about those women who argue against quo- tas: I firmly believe that nobody – male or female – gets where they get, in the end, 'on their own'. At one point in your life, you will probably find yourself at the right time, in the right place, in front of the right per- son… and that's when things happen. It's as simple as that. I'm not saying that what you may have studied, and your ex- perience in life, doesn't count. But you're not the only has who has studied, or has that experi- ence. So if you got anywhere at all, in life: it will also be because someone, somewhere, 'woke up in a good mood' one day, and decided to give you that oppor- tunity. So for anyone to stand up and say: 'I did it, all on my own. And if I did it, anyone can do it…' Sorry, but no. That's not true at all. There are women out there, who are just as capable as any- one else; but they probably did not get the right opportunity; did not meet the right person… and that is very often the only reason they don't go as far as others. I think, then, that is it up to the women who have been suc- cessful in life, to work towards creating the same opportunity for all women, everywhere. At the same time however, Maltese women don't seem to find it difficult to get elected, when they do contest. There is even research suggesting that – on an individual basis – women actually fare about 2% better, in elections, than men. How, then, do you account for such a huge gender imbalance in Parliament? It's the culture. We live in a Mediterranean country; and, like other Mediterranean coun- tries, the 'caring' part of the family is still very much given to the woman. Take the COVID-19 pandem- ic, for instance: recent research has studied the impact of the pandemic on society… and who did they find stayed home with the children, when they were not at school? Who had to take leave from work? Who ended up on Zoom meetings, with children running around all over the room? Who ended up suffering more anxiety, from lack of sleep… from having to work late, and then attend to all the other household chores…? So before we achieve at least a basic level of gender equality at home, we cannot realistically expect gender equality to sim- ply develop, on its own, in Par- liament… or in decision-mak- ing positions across the board. This is why a culture-change is so urgent; why it is some- thing we have to work on, all the time…