Designing a Conflict Map Analysis to Inform the Policy Reform on Sex Work in Malta

Abstract

In September 2019, the Government of Malta announced a public consultation to inform the reform of sex work related policies in Malta (MEAE, 2019). A number of stakeholders proposed policy recommendations to the reform, through submissions of policy papers and discussions at meetings of the Social Affairs Committee of the Parliament in March 2020. This dissertation looks to answer how a conflict mapping process can help to inform this policy reform on sex work in Malta. The methodology of critical reflection contributed to the design of a Conflict Map Analysisproposal to inform the reform. This proposal is situated in a human rights and harm reduction based framework, and aims to aid the advancement of active governance. Additionally, this dissertation offers an example of the benefits of conflict mapping to the policy reform process by applying a tailor-made Narrative Map Analysis to analyse the audio recording of the Social Affairs Committee meeting which was held on the 4th of March 2020. A key finding of this research is that a conflict mapping process, rooted in human rights values and harm reduction principles, can enhance active governance, and aid the Government of Malta to address the needs of sex workers in this policy reform.Keywords: conflict mapping, sex work, sex work policy, Malta, human rights, harm reduction, policy making