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8 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 9 JUNE 2021 NEWS Majority believe prostitution legalisation will lead to increased sexual violence KARL AZZOPARDI THE majority of people in Malta believe the legalisation of pros- titution will lead to increased sexual violence in society, a survey carried out by the Malta Women's Lobby has shown. The survey, carried out by MISCO last February, was com- missioned by the NGO in collab- oration with 45 other organisa- tions. The lobby wanted to present its findings to the Office of the Prime Minister but received no reply despite a number of attempts, spokesperson Anna Borg said when presenting the results on Tuesday. "We would have liked for the people charged with imple- menting policy to take note of our findings," she said. Government is in the pro- cess of drafting legislation to decriminalise prostitution al- though no concrete proposal has been put forward yet. The survey shows that 80% feel the full legalisation of prostitution services will con- tribute to increased sexual violence, which largely affects women and girls, while 72% feel prostitution is a form of sexual violence and should be stopped. Furthermore, 81% of those surveyed said they would feel unsafe knowing a residence close to where they live was be- ing used as a brothel. Three-fourths said that even if some people choose to sell sex, prostitution has negative social impacts that cannot be ignored. The majority (89%) also said government should step in and provide social welfare to people drawn towards prostitution to help them from getting into the industry. Asked what relevance the sur- vey holds, in light of the opin- ions given during the study not coming from industry profes- sionals, Borg said that policy should also factor in the public's sentiment on the issue. The Nordic model The coalition of women's rights organisations has repeat- edly called for the adoption of the Nordic Model with regards to decriminalising prostitution. The model decriminalises the seller of prostitution services, and criminalises the pimp and individuals purchasing sex. However, some organisations have warned that such a mod- el risks pushing prostitution further underground, creating more risks for the individuals involved. Asked about the risks of the Nordic Model, coali- tion spokesperson Romina Lopez said that such claims are "myths". "Research has shown in a number of countries that when prostitution is made legal, un- derground crime actually in- creases," she said. This can be attributed to the demand of sexual services which remained illegal, such as pregnant prosti- tutes. "Organised crime still looks to offer these services, and so de- spite prostitution being legal, women are forcefully impreg- nated to meet the demand," she said. "I'm sorry but these claims only serve to scare people into thinking that full legalisation of prostitution is the only solu- tion." Romina Lopoez Anna Borg Office of the Prime Minister refuses to meet with Malta Women's Lobby to discuss survey findings on prostitution