An Opposition MP has challenged the government’s inaction on the proliferation of "massage parlours" across Malta over the years.

Speaking in Parliament, Nationalist MP Graziella Attard Previ said it has long been known that massage parlours are doubling up as brothels.

Quoting the findings of a study lifting the lid on the exploitation of Chinese massage parlour workers, Attard Previ slammed the government for ignoring the “blatant abuse”.

The study found that workers are having unprotected sex and their movements are often restricted, exposing them to disease and exploitation.

Attard Previ said the police had successfully proven in court time and time again that massage parlours are doubling up as brothels.

“Why are we allowing foreign women to be trafficked… There is a need for massage parlours to be regulated,” she said.

She questioned the qualifications of workers at these parlours and pointed out that they always seem to be staffed by foreign nationals.

Attard Previ asked whether the blind eye being turned by the government is part of a policy to legalise prostitution.

She said prostitutes inevitably end up being the victims of exploitation.

Malta has a thriving albeit illegal sex trade industry. Up until 2016 there were nearly 200 registered massage parlours on the island.

However, figures are not available for the following years as the government removed licensing requirements for the establishments. 

In 2019, Times of Malta reported that about 500 men tested at the GU clinic over two years had conceded to having had sex with sex workers.

Nearly one in every 10 men who signed up to be tested at the clinic between 2017 and 2019 admitted to paying a sex worker for a sexual encounter in Malta.

Most of them had sought testing after developing symptoms of a sexually transmitted infection.