Malta remains destination for woman subjected to sex trafficking – US report

Malta is not fully meeting the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, the Trafficking In Persons report by the United State’s Department of State has said.

As reported over the past five years, Malta was described as a source and destination country for women subjected to sex trafficking and a destination for women and men subjected to labour trafficking.

Some 3,539 labour inspections were carried out in 2017, but the government did not make efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts or forced labour.

The report said women and children from Malta have also been subjected to sex trafficking within the country.

“Forced labour victims originate from China, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. Women from Southeast Asia working as domestic workers, Chinese nationals working in massage parlours, foreign male soccer players, and women from Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and Ukraine working in nightclubs represent populations vulnerable to exploitation. The approximately 5,000 irregular migrants from African countries residing in Malta are vulnerable to trafficking in the country’s informal labour market, including within the construction, hospitality, and domestic sectors,” the report said.

In reaction, the Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms, Citizenship and the Simplification of Administrative Processes, while acknowledging that more work needs to be done, said the Maltese Government welcomes the observations of the report that Malta continued to increase its efforts to fight human trafficking.

The report refers to the specialised training provided to the Police to investigate cases related to the trafficking of persons. It refers to the fact that the number of labour inspections have doubled over the previous reporting period. In 2017 the Maltese Government increased its investment in fighting human trafficking, especially with the setting up of the Victims Support Unit to provide various professional services to victims of human trafficking and an increase in the number of temporary shelters available for the said victims.

The Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms, Citizenship and the Simplification of Administrative Processes said it is committed to strengthen the fight against human trafficking by the establishment of the first national strategy against human trafficking. The strategy will aim to consolidate the work of different public entities against human trafficking as well as increase awareness at national level on this criminal act.

In this regard, the Parliamentary Secretariat has engaged in a series of meetings with experts and members of the civil society to discuss ways how the authorities could ameliorate its approach against human trafficking. Talks are also underway with the United Kingdom to reinforce the collaboration between the two countries, particularly through the provision of intensive training to public officials on the identification of victims of human trafficking.

In line with its pledge in the electoral manifesto, the government said it is determined to introduce the changes which are needed to support persons, including Maltese nationals, who fall victim to sexual exploitation and prostitution.