A debate on sex-work is needed and should be framed within a context whereby sexist attitudes towards women are still predominant, the dean of the Faculty for Social Wellbeing said on Friday.

He said in a statement this had to be founded on the human rights of sex-workers and take into consideration issues, such as, the decriminalisation of sex-workers, high quality support services (medical and social), pimping and sex-trafficking, training of professionals (including the police and judiciary), improved legislation and public and educational campaigns.

It also needed to be mindful of the fact that women working as sex-workers were at a higher risk of contracting STDs and watchful on evidence that seemed to indicate that factors such as poverty could be pushing women into prostitution.

Prof. Azzopardi said the debate needed to frame the fact that affected women affected tended to come from broken families, wanted to escape their environment and were somehow vulnerable.

It needed to relay the concern that this situation was a representation of a patriarchal society in which men felt entitled to have sex when they wanted to.

The debate also needed to take into consideration the fact that sex-workers were heavily stigmatised so found it hard to reach out for help.

One should analyse what was done in other countries, commission research, rationalise the debate and apply caution.

He said that one had to keep in mind that the most conservative official statistics suggested that one in seven prostitutes in Europe were victims of trafficking, while some EU states estimated that between 60% and 90% of those in their respective prostitution markets had been trafficked.

This, Prof. Azzopardi said, was  a complex matter that merited not only ample space for discussion but also a debate that had to converge women organisations, women in the ‘industry’ and researchers.

Politicians had to stand to their role and listen to what the major issues were before changing or introducing new legislation.