The government has no plans to consider decriminalising or legalising prostitution, Social and Family Affairs Minister Dolores Cristina said in Parliament yesterday. She was answering a parliamentary question by Joe Mizzi (MLP).

He said that while he was not calling for the legalisation of prostitution, he was asking whether any research had been conducted on the experience in other countries that indicated that decriminalising and legalising prostitution while imposing controls could lead to less abuse and disease.

Mrs Cristina said she knew of no such research in Malta, but one must remember that prostitution was not simply an issue of disease but also went counter to human dignity.