Did we jump the gun on such a discussion?

Malta lacks spaces to discuss issues and concerns related to sexual and reproductive health, let alone the rights that are attached to it, LGBTIQ and human rights activist Ruth Baldacchino told

How right she is.

Sex is still very much a taboo here in Malta, and while some strides forward have been made, it is still not a topic openly talked about today. At the same time, however, Malta has jumped head-first into a discussion on prostitution. While the legal status of prostitution is something that warrants a debate, perhaps more groundwork should have been laid prior to reaching this point.

Baldacchino had told this newsroom that “the lack of open and respectful conversation on sex and sexuality continues to reinforce the stigma we attach to sex. It is important to treat ‘sex education’ as lifelong learning and not simply a school subject for school-aged children. Remember, that many in Malta, especially those who are 40 years and older, never had any form of sex education in school.”

This should have been the starting point, and eliminating the taboo about sexual health and sexual education should have been the basis prior to launching a discussion about whether prostitution should be regulated, and what model the country should go for. This, however, is of course too late, and what the country needs now is an intense campaign to remove the taboo surrounding sex and sexual health, and perhaps even put a face to the idea of prostitution, and not just picture an image of sleaze. People in prostitution might be there because of life circumstances, perhaps were forced into it, while others might be paying their way through school. It is a very complex issue and cannot be looked into without seeing the people working in the sex industry as people.

Nearly no prostitutes have spoken up openly about what they want in terms of legal reforms. Now it is widely known that many people who work in prostitution are there either because of tragic life circumstances, and others have been forced in the profession, but one cannot discount that there is a percentage in this line of work of their own free will and are not victims of circumstance.

One must then debate, however, whether having a group of people working in prostitution out of their own free will without dire circumstances behind such a decision is enough to warrant supporting such a profession becoming completely decriminalised (as in where those who buy sex are not legally committing a criminal act), and whether doing so would have a negative impact on the people who are forced into prostitution.

But in order to really have this debate, we need to first hear from the people who work in prostitution out of their own free will. In order for this to happen, such workers need to come forward. When sex is still a taboo in Malta, this will prove to be very difficult.

Baldacchino had said during the interview that “addressing the stigma and myths about sex, sexual relationships and sex practices may dispel some of the myths about sex work but it is only one way to start addressing issues related to sex work. We need to recognise that sex work is a complex social phenomenon that has been shrouded in taboo for way too long.”