Society should have structures in place to assist prostitutes but regulation is unlikely to be the solution, experts say.

Prostitution had always been a no-win situation, former European Court of Human Rights judge Giovanni Bonello told Times of Malta.

Dr Bonello was approached following comments by Labour deputy leader Toni Abela and lawyer Edward Gatt in favour of regularising prostitution to protect sex workers.

Sometimes, the remedies proposed ended up being more problematic than the phenomenon they attempted to address, Dr Bonello said.

“If we take our neighbour, Italy, whose mores and traditions are quite similar to ours, we come across trends opposite to those being now proposed in Malta.”

Former European Court of Human Rights judge Giovanni Bonello and University academic Anna Borg.

The very same arguments employed in Malta in favour of State-run bordellos were used in Italy against them

Up to some time ago, prostitution was highly regulated by the Italian government, with State-approved brothels and regular health and security inspections.

“Then (Socialist) Senator (Lina) Merlin led a popular movement for the abolition of State-regulated brothels and the deregulation of prostitution.

“It is bizarre that the very same arguments employed in Malta in favour of State-run bordellos were used in Italy against State-run bordellos: the protection of vulnerable women, etcetera.

“The other peculiarity is that, in Italy, the Socialists (with exceptions) were massively in favour of closing down official brothels.

“The so-called Legge Merlin that closed down Italian brothels has now been in force for many years. An abrogative referendum proposed to repeal that law and re-establish legal brothels failed to receive sufficient popular support.”

Society, he added, should have structures in place to assist women who fell under the control and clutches of criminals to regain their own life.

According to Anna Borg, an academic at the University’s Centre for Labour Studies, regulating prostitution was not the solution.

However, she added, prostitutes should not be punished.

Most women turned to sex work after finding themselves in desperate circumstances or to sustain their drug habit, meaning they themselves were victims. Prostitutes should therefore be protected and helped and not put behind bars, she stressed.

Still, regularising prostitution, she continued, would incentivise pimps to further boost their business in view of the lucrative prospects ahead.

“How can we regulate something that gives out the wrong message? According to our research, most prostitutes turn to sex work in transit, after finding themselves in a particularly dire situation.

“Very few women actually want to keep on prostituting themselves for life. Most want to escape prostitution.

“By regulating prostitution, who would we be protecting? Is it vulnerable women or the men who use women?”

In 2002, Germany made buying and selling sex, pimping and brothel-keeping legal. However, Dr Borg added, very few prostitutes actually took advantage of regular work contracts.

“I believe it should be made illegal for people to buy sex.

“The perpetrators are the ones who should be criminalised. Targeting the demand would also affect the supply.”