Men who have sex with ‘massage parlour’ prostitutes pose a possible cancer risk to their wives or partners, women’s rights organisations and a leading sexual health expert have warned.
Speaking to Times of Malta, the Confederation of Women’s Rights Organisations on Tuesday raised concerns about the possibility of men who have unprotected sex in massage parlours, contracting human papillomavirus – one of the most commonly diagnosed STIs which, if untreated, can develop into cancer in women.
“HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer in non-vaccinated women. Hence massage parlours are not only spreading STIs and diseases, but also a deadly cancer,” the group warned.
The organisations were reacting to a report in The Sunday Times of Malta exposing how more than 500 men had told doctors that they had sex with women in massage parlours in the past two years.
Most of the men were middle-aged and married or divorced, and had sought medical testing after fears that they had contracted an STI.
Sexual health expert Rodrick Bugeja, from the University of Malta’s Faculty of Health Sciences, on Tuesday echoed the confederation’s concerns.
“Yes, we can expect a spread of cervical cancer as a result of this phenomenon,” he said.
Dr Bugeja, who prior to joining the University’s academic staff had worked at the hospital’s GU Clinic, advised men and women to get tested regularly.
“Even if you are married or in a long-term relationship, do get tested. Unfortunately, there have been cases of married women contracting HPV, or other infections, from unfaithful husbands,” he said.
Unfortunately, there have been cases of married women contracting HPV from unfaithful husbands
Sources at the GU clinic on Tuesday said no data on the number of married women contracting an STI was readily available, however, they could confirm having seen a number of these cases in recent months.
One nurse said she had “no doubt” that these parlours posed a threat to public health, as the men presented a high risk of passing infections on to their wives or other partners.
Herpes and genital warts were among the most common STIs, the nurse said, adding that more serious cases had also been flagged in recent months.
Other infections, such as gonorrhoea and chlamydia, could also lead to infertility in both males and females.
“The list goes on and on,” the confederation said.
The women’s rights organisations said it was clear that many ‘massage parlours’ were acting as brothels and their expansion encouraged the trafficking of prostituted women.
Allowing these establishments to keep operating went against the country’s commitment to uphold gender equality and ultimately posed a risk to public health.
Subsequent governments, they said, had closed their eyes to this “ugly reality”.