Peruvian lawmakers have banned female legislative aides from wearing miniskirts or shorts in a controversial response to shocking revelations of an alleged prostitution ring operating within congress.

The move, which critics say reveals legislators’ “medieval” attitudes towards women, comparable to the Taliban, comes after weeks of scandal, including an apparent hit on one of the sex workers and allegations of rape against a congressman.

“Blaming the victim like this just shows the hypocrisy and the ethical crisis of the majority in congress,” centrist congresswoman Flor Pablo said. “Unfortunately, it is the parties’ responsibility for selecting this kind of machista candidate.”

The scandal broke in December, when a hitman riddled a taxi in Lima, the capital, with some 40 bullets, yet stole nothing from the dying driver or his passenger, Andrea Vidal, 27, a photogenic lawyer and former congressional aide.

By the time she succumbed to her injuries, in intensive care one week later, investigators had begun unearthing a sex-for-votes racket allegedly operating within the legislative palace itself.