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Parliament considers making prostitution illegal

Source
The Dili Weekly - December 21, 2012

The National Parliament of Timor-Leste is considering drafting legislation criminalizing prostitution in efforts to control the prostitution industry amidst concerns it is flourishing in the country.

"I believe in order for parliament and the government to criminalise prostitution, then it is up to them to create the appropriate legislation, as was the case of the penal code and anti-abortion legislation. Parliament was responsible for it. Hence with prostitution, they must do the same," said MP Carmelita Moniz, in parliament.

"However, parliament alone cannot do anything, there must be collaboration as both civil society and Government view prostitution in a negative way, so, they must criminalize it," said the President of Parliamentary Commission A.

She added according to the current law, prostitution is not illegal and we can criminalize those who facilitate prostitution however the reality is the activity continues to flourish on public spaces, due to the lack of control by the Police's immigration department who are not controlling visitors visas to Timor-Leste.

The continuing spread of prostitution amongst the community is of grave concern to its members who believe it will negatively affect children's future.

"I don't know what the Government is thinking, but people must take necessary action to discourage prostitution in their midst. They should not let these people go unnoticed, instead they should be coming forward with information so together we can combat this activity," said resident Fernanda Lay, who lives near one of these establishments in Dili.

According to her, people using prostitution services come from all sectors of society, including some leaders.

Prostitution is an issue of grave concern for the Women in Parliament Group (GPMTL), as it is one of the ways of spreading HIV/AIDS which impacts directly on the dignity of Timorese women, undermining their role and dignity attained after 24 years of hard fought war alongside their male counterparts.

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