Clients of prostitutes should be penalised to “send a message that prostitution is a form of exploitation”, the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) has said.

The government intends to fully decriminalise prostitution, meaning sex workers and their clients would no longer face criminal repercussions.

However the stance from Equality Parliamentary Secretary Rosianne Cutajar has been criticised by a coalition of 40 NGOS.

In a statement the NCPE also said the sex-buyer should be penalised. It said the prostitution reform proposals should help people exit prostitution and create the conditions where nobody has to resort to prostitution. 

“Moreover, the State should send a clear message that prostitution is a form of exploitation that reproduces and reinforces a patriarchal society,” it said.

“In this context, sex-buyers should be penalised. There should be an effective strategy for a crackdown on pimps and traffickers, often operating through businesses such as massage parlours and strip clubs. 

“Only in this way can the sex market, which is inherently exploitative and which preys on vulnerable individuals, be narrowed. “

It said the state had an obligation to “de-normalise prostitution” and “address the legal and social realities that give rise to this exploitative market”.