[Press release of the Malta Confederation of Women’s Organisations (MCWO), 25 October 2013] The Malta Confederation of Women’s Organisations (MCWO) is against ‘gentlemen’s clubs’ and said that these should be banned and not regulated.
Referring to the recent debate on the regulation of Gentlemen’s Clubs in Malta, the Confederation said that these types of businesses, which glamorise the exploitation and objectification of women for money, should be banned not regulated.
MCWO Chairperson Lorraine Spiteri said “The Confederation is against the regulation of the so called ‘gentlemen’s clubs’. Such clubs constitute a form of violence against women and violence can never be tolerated or regulated by law.”
“Research has shown that often there are links between crime, prostitution, and human trafficking in such establishments. Female workers working within this industry tend to suffer from sexual harassment and are often humiliated by the club owners who make a profit from their exploitation, as well as from the so called ‘ gentlemen’ who are paying to be ‘serviced’ by them. In many instances women working in these establishments are encouraged to drink alcohol on site and are expected, or sometimes pressured to offer their sexual services. This has led countries like Iceland to place a ban on such Clubs and to make it illegal for any businesses to gain any profit from the nudity and the objectification of their employees,” added Ms Spiteri.
