The Malta Confederation of Women's Organisations today called for the banning of gentlemen's clubs.

Referring to a recent call by a magistrate for such clubs to be regulated, the confederations aid it was against the regulation of these types of businesses "which glamorise the exploitation and objectification of women for money".Such club, should be banned not regulated, it said, adding that they constituted a form of violence against women and violence could never be tolerated or regulated by law."

The confederation said that research had shown that there were often links between crime, prostitution, and human trafficking in such establishments.

"Female workers working within this industry tend to suffer from sexual harassment and are often humiliated by the club owners who make a profit from their exploitation, as well as from the so called gentlemen who are paying to be ‘serviced’ by them.

"In many instances women working in these establishments are encouraged to drink alcohol on site and are expected, or sometimes pressured to offer their sexual services.

"This has led countries like Iceland to place a ban on such clubs and to make it illegal for any businesses to gain any profit from the nudity and the objectification of their employees," the confederation said.