Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1024340
17 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 SEPTEMBER 2018 INTERVIEW against. But I don't represent the full spectrum of the community, as such. I don't consider myself very effeminate; but others are, and they might have different experiences. Trans people in par- ticular...or people who look dif- ferent at a glance... probably do face a very different attitude, and it might extend to being denied a service, or being treated differ- ently, because they don't conform to society expectations. Would you say that 'effeminacy' is more of an issue for some people than homosexuality, because it challenges gender perceptions directly? In a sense, yes; but it's not just about men who are effeminate. Women in general face struggles all the time in society. They're never given the same voice or status as men. There's a hierar- chy of discrimination, and gay people are just another level of it. I wouldn't say we're worse off than we were before; and things are getting better. There are more companies opening up today, for instance, which implement 'di- versity-friendly' policies... Do gay people in Malta still face issues such as discrimination in employment? Not gay people as such, but trans people might find it harder to get or keep a job. I monitor what happens on social media, within our community groups, and there was one instance where a trans person put the blame on herself, for being trans, because she got fired. There could have been other issues involved – I don't know all the details of the case – but she herself felt that be- ing trans was the main obstacle. And there are other issues. For trans women who start transi- tioning later in life, when their masculine features are fully de- veloped, going into womanhood becomes very challenging. Trans men, too, face a lot of difficul- ties. I would like their voices to be heard more out there. Then there are non-binary people, who don't feel they can identify with either gender – and it's very hard for most people to understand this. In a sense, I'm lucky to be work- ing with ARC, because it helped me get a better idea of the diver- sity that exists out there. Coming back to the planned 'Rosary Rally': the organisation behind it appears to be small, but is there a concern among the gay community that it represents the tip of an iceberg: that there may be a much larger, unspoken groundswell resistance to the direction Malta is taking with regard to gay rights? I would say there still is an ele- ment of hidden homophobia. For instance, when we launched the 'Rainbow Family Project', some of the comments under the news reports were along the lines that: 'No, I would never let children be brought up by gay families.' Read- ing those comments you start re- alising that not everyone is happy with LGBT equality... Meanwhile, there is a political dimension to this issue. On paper, both parties now claim to be 'inclusive': but the Opposition in particular is torn between different factions, especially when it comes to areas such as gay couples bringing up children. One interpretation is that the government may be steering in this direction precisely to capitalise on the PN's internal rift. How would you respond to that argument? As a community, I don't think we'd like to be used as a political tool. Obviously, the legislative changes were very welcome in themselves, and I don't want to be 'political' in my reactions to them. But at the same time, we still have to remain critical, even though the government has progressed so much on gay issues. There are still things that need to be amend- ed, changed and improved... For example? One area I can criticise is the lack of resources at the GU [Genitor-Urinary] Clinic. Gay men form the largest percent- age of service-users at the GU clinic. Unfortunately, however, it is still understaffed, and does not have all the necessary re- sources. Even though we have advanced in other areas, when it comes to sexual health there is still not enough awareness. Just by distributing condoms, you're not increasing awareness. For that, you need education. There have been improvements in this area. I'm not 100% aware of what happens in all schools today, but I believe they do now include the idea of different forms of gender, and relationships within the fam- ily. But not enough is being done when it comes to sexual health. Compared to other countries/ cities, where the rate of new HIV cases has dropped by 90%, in Malta it is still on the increase. The GU clinic provides testing and treatment, and there is also Rainbow Support Services – an NGO managed by MGRM, and funded by government – which provides counselling and other services for people with HIV. But on this issue, I don't think we are doing the best we can. If you look at what is being done in other countries, and how the rate has dropped so significantly, you'll find it's because there were other approaches. Apart from sexual health services – which are very specific – are there other areas where gay people are either overlooked or omitted from the spectrum of social services? Are there any specific needs or demands that are not being met? There is one issue which also touches upon the 'branding' I mentioned earlier. When we launched our social media cam- paign, we used images of differ- ent types of people... including the older generation. Today, we are facing the first 60+ genera- tion of 'out' LGBT people: some of whom have had to go into care homes, or use certain gov- ernment services. Not everyone is trained or sensitised enough to know how to deal with a new social demographic. Some of these people, for instance – es- pecially in care homes – have to face peers who obviously come from the same generation, often with years of prejudice behind them. The 60+ generation is not as open-minded as the younger ones. So you can imagine the possible problems. Some might feel they have to go back into the closet when they enter a nurs- ing home. This is being tackled, though. Just this week, University provided training for managers of care homes on how to cater for LGBT people. So there is this realisation happening. But things can always be improved. It would be great to have a senior LGBT home in Malta, for instance... But wouldn't that be a case of social segregation? No, not at all. They won't be locked up; they can still form part of the community out there. It's the same with gay bars and clubs. Even in developed countries with all equality legislation in place, you will still find gay bars and gay hang-outs. Because if people want to meet others, form friend- ships, relationships, or develop intimate bonds – even later in life – you'd find it more available in an LGBT-focused environ- ment. And the staff would be bet- ter trained. But at the end of the day, it's about freedom of choice. God forbid we were to talk about a policy which forces gay people into gay homes. Everyone is free to choose for themselves. But I can vouch for the fact that the majority of the gay community would love to have the choice of an LGBT-focused home. The 60+ generation is not as open- minded as the younger ones. So you can imagine the possible problems. Some LGBT people might feel they have to go back into the closet when they enter a nursing home PHOTO JAMES BIANCHI