Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1085429
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 FEBRUARY 2019 NEWS LAURA CALLEJA FOR Mara Clarke, the founder of wom- en's charity Abortion Support Network (ASN), the ultimate victory would be for her organisation to no longer be needed. "For us, victory would be to shut down, and for the phone to stop ringing." Malta is the only country in the EU where abortion remains illegal, but at the same time, hundreds of women leave Malta each year to have abortions overseas. And abortion still remains very much a taboo, surrounded by a mentality of 'don't ask, don't tell', with surveys con- ducted by MaltaToday proving an over- whelming majority of over 95% against abortion, making it a politically un- touchable subject. But for Clarke, abortion is an inescap- able reality. "We can debate abortion all we want, we can pretend it's this ab- stract thing, but meanwhile I know that Maltese women are getting on planes. I know that for the people who can af- ford it, it's an inconvenience, and for the people who can't, it's catastrophic." In 2016, the World Health Organisa- tion (WHO) estimated that globally per every 1,000 women who fell pregnant, between the ages of 15 and 44 from 2010 to 2014, 35 of those pregnancies ended in abortion, or a 'spontaneous miscar- riage.' That same year, the WHO estimated that globally between 2010 and 2014, 25% of pregnancies ended in abortion. In the UK alone, according to the De- partment of Health and Social Care in 2017, there were 192,000 abortions for women who were residents in England and Wales and 197,533 abortions in- cluding non-residents. For nine years, the ASN has helped women in Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man – all places where abortion is illegal or severely restricted – end unwanted pregnancies. The or- ganisation does this predominantly by providing judgement-free, informed an- swers to practical questions: what is the cheapest way to fly from Cork to Eng- land for an abortion, for example? In February, ASN expanded to Malta and Gibraltar. The news came with- out the usual alarm bells ringing: when Dutch women's activist and abortion doctor Rebecca Gomperts came to Malta to advise women on Women On Waves' JAMES DEBONO 16% of Sliema residents do not be- long to any religion and 13% belong to a religious denomination that is not Roman Catholic. These statistics emerge from the findings of a Social Impact Assess- ment (SIA) on the proposed Town- square high-rise, which revealed widespread opposition to the project and deep distrust in the Planning Authority. Shining a new light on life in one of Malta's most cosmopolitan communities, the study also finds that Sliema residents using English in their eve- ryday conversations outnumbered those who speak Maltese. And only one-third consider themselves to be active participants in local commu- nity life. The study was based on a ran- domly selected sample consisting of 300 Maltese and 150 foreign resi- dents living in Sliema. The balance between Maltese and foreigners re- flects that found in official statistics. When asked about religious affili- ations, 71% of respondents said they are Roman Catholic, 16% claimed to have no religious beliefs at all, 9% claimed to belong to other Chris- tian denominations (not Catholic), 4% identified themselves as Muslim and 0.8% identified with an Eastern religion. The SIA refers to a MaltaToday survey carried out in 2016, where while 89% identified themselves with the Catholic religion, less than 5% identified themselves as not be- longing to any religion. "This indi- cates that Sliema is, by comparison, more religiously diverse than the rest of the Maltese islands," the study said. The SIA also throws a light on the languages used in Sliema. While 65% use Maltese in everyday com- munication, 75% also use English and 15% use Italian. French was used by 1.5%. Languages mentioned by less than 1% of respondents in- cluded German, Spanish, Arabic, Serbian, Greek and Romanian. When asked whether they feel there is a sense of community in Sliema only 49% replied 'yes', while 44% replied 'no' and 7% opted for 'don't know'. But when asked whether they feel they are an active member of the S l i e m a c o m - m u n i t y , 64% replied 'no'. When questioned on "whether they wish to be involved in the plan- ning of projects that affect the life- style of the people in the commu- nity" only 38% answered 'yes'. When asked about the positive aspects of living in Sliema 80% re- ferred to its central location. The 'availability of good shopping', 'proximity to beaches' and 'availa- bility of good restaurants and cater- ing establishments' were mentioned by 70% to 80% of respondents. The 'availability of multiple services', 'commercial activity' and 'vibrant tourism sector' were mentioned by 60% to 70% of the respondents' approval. The 'cosmopolitan char- acter' and 'good standard of living' were mentioned by 50% to 60% of the respondents. Traffic and parking were per- ceived to be the major problems in Sliema by 85% and 84% of residents respectively. Dirt/air pollution and noise pollution were mentioned by 70% to 80% of respondents, while overpopulation, lack of urban plan- ning and lack of natural environ- ment were mentioned by 60 to 70% of the respondents. Only 28% said that Sliema has a poor standard of living. And 5% la- mented that pavements tend to be taken over by restaurant chairs and tables. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Cosmopolitan Sliema 29% are not Catholic Social impact assessment exposes cultural and religious diversity apart from distrust in planning institutions Profile of Sliema's residents • 71% are Roman Catholic • 16% do not belong to any religion • 9% belong to other Christian denominations • 4% are Muslim • 75% use English in everyday conversation • 65% use Maltese in everyday conversation • 49% think there is a sense of community in Sliema • 33% think they are active members of the community • 15% use Italian in everyday conversation • 85% think traffic is a problem in Sliema U ajma, mela! Mara Clarke's charity will give women advice and funding on how to get an abortion outside Malta. Her silent coup marks an important milestone in women's rights in Malta Abortion: an inescapable For nine years, Mara Clarke's charity helped women in Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man – all places where abortion is illegal or severely restricted. Now her service has reached Malta