The government has jumped to the defence of Children’s Commissioner Helen D’Amato who came under fire yesterday for not having taken action on controversial teen parties despite being asked to investigate last year by a concerned parent.
A Family Ministry spokesman said the government was confident Ms D’Amato handled the matter “in the best manner possible” and would continue to play a pivotal role in tackling the issue.
According to Ms D’Amato and the ministry, the report she received in October of last year focused on the age of the attendees.
“Ms D’Amato discussed the legality of these events with the police and was informed there was no breach of the law in the organisation of such parties,” the ministry spokesman said.
Between August and September, however, the concerns raised about the parties “went beyond the mere matter of age”. According to Ms D’Amato, the matter was brought up during an informal meeting with young people in August. Then, in September, Facebook photos were uploaded showing “girls dancing in lingerie and in a provocative manner, in what seemed an organised way, on raised platforms”.
“Once this office became aware of this evolving situation, it initiated talks with the competent authorities and has since made recommendations to be considered by them,” a spokesman for Ms D’Amato said.
The ministry spokesman said talks on the recommendations were under way with the Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs and also with the Parliamentary Secretariat for Culture.
The person who alerted Ms D’Amato to teen parties last October was Audrey Callus, who says she works with youth on a daily basis at a sports organisation.
In a comment on timesofmalta.com she said she told Ms D’Amato that, even if the parties were organised within the limits of the law, they were still “damaging our youth” and probably increasing teenage pregnancies.
The parties sparked controversy last week after images emerged of girls in their very early teens dancing in costume lingerie. It later also emerged that the organiser of the parties was given a suspended jail term for engaging in sexual relations with a 13-year-old girl.
The issue has inspired calls for better parenting, more police enforcement and moral behaviour by nightclub owners. Some saying they were witnesses claimed that alcohol was sold outside the venues from car booths.
The parties are held at nightclub venues that get an “exemption” for a particular date from the Malta Tourism Authority to allow access to under-17s on condition that no alcohol is served, consumed or displayed on the premises. The MTA is responsible for issuing bar licences.
Although the MTA is not responsible for enforcement, it is “normal practice” to inform the police of any approved exemption request so they would be able to monitor the situation and the event, a spokesman said.
Meanwhile, Ms D’Amato has also called for a change in the law to ensure a better age bracket at such parties which at present allows for anyone over and under the age of 17 to enter, resulting in an “unhealthy mix” of children as young as 11 and adults in their 20s.