Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1507380
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 SEPTEMBER 2023 8 INTERVIEW Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt Misinformation is the real This week, Malta kicked off its 'Euro-Pride' festivities: and it seems there is much to be proud about, when it comes to LGBTQ rights. From a situation where gays were not even legally ac- knowledged, 10 years ago: Malta now tops the charts, as Europe's 'most gay-friendly nation'. This raises the question: is there any- thing even left to fight for, on the LGBTQ front? As you said, we've achieved a lot over the past 10 years. And the changes we have seen, in that time, are the sort of changes that usually take place over genera- tions. Our national legislation is now regarded as 'pioneering'. Most of it has, in fact, been used as a blueprint by other Europe- an countries, to model their own legislation on. And I think that's really im- portant: especially when you see how our society is made up. The legislation has really pushed for- ward a change in mentality. To me, the greatest example of this is when there are certain LGB- TIQ-phobic comments, online. Today, there will be backlash against those comments, by so- ciety in general. It won't come just from activists, or the LGB- TIQ community itself. In gener- al, there is now widespread rec- ognition, that those comments are just 'wrong'. So the legislation has sparked a change when it comes to mentali- ty: evidenced even by the fact that people actually feel safe 'coming out', and living their life without the fear of discrimination. This is not to say that we don't have cases of discrimination; but the number of such cases is very small, compared to what we used to have before. So a lot has already been achieved. But there is still a lot that we have to focus on, over the next five years. In fact, we launched the third National Strategy on LGBTQ Equality on Idaho Day [May 17] this year. And two of our main concerns, are combating hate speech, and misinformation: because those are the biggest threats to equal- ity that we are facing; not just in Malta, but across the globe. That is our next hurdle, so to speak, when it comes to equality... These hurdles you mention, however, are not always easy to define. 'Hate speech' is perhaps something we can all recognise; but 'misinformation' can take many forms. To adherents of the Catholic faith, for instance, ho- mosexuality is in itself regarded as 'sinful'. To other sects – such as River of Love – it is a 'pathol- ogy', that can be 'cured' through 'gay conversion therapy'. Is this the sort of misinformation you have in mind? As you said: misinformation takes many forms. Let me give one, very small example. In the run up to Euro Pride, we organ- ized a 'Dancing with Pride' event last July; to bring everyone on board, and share the message of equality. Now: there was no 'backlash', or controversy, surrounding the event itself. It had been adver- tised for a long time beforehand; and on the day itself, the event was a success. But then, a few days later, some- one posted an photo online, out of context [featuring drag artist Olivia Lilith, performing in front of children]; and suddenly, there was an uproar. The misinfor- mation that was perpetuated on social media, as a result, was in- credible. Lies spread like wildfire, about what was actually happen- ing during the event.... That is one example, of the type of misinformation we're talking about; and the effect it can have on other people. What we really need to do, is make sure is that people actually look at where they're getting their information from; that they can decipher 'who is saying what', exactly; and dis- tinguish between what is an opin- ion, and what is fact. Because this is the real threat to equality. When you look at what's happening around the world – in countries like Italy, just a few hundred kilometres away– you will see that 'fiction', and 'con- spiracy-theories', are very often being accepted as 'fact'. And this is dangerous, because we cannot take civil liberties for granted. So, coming back to the changes that have been achieved, in a matter of 10 years: I grew up in a different generation, where I used to hear politicians like [For- mer European Commissioner for Health] Tonio Borg saying, in Parliament, that with the Rent Reform (and I'm quoting, here; I will never use this language, my- self): "we're going to regularize gays..." As I recall, Tonio Borg had also argued that the EU's Freedom of Movement Directive should apply only to 'families in the na- tional interest'... Yes; and he was a government minister, at the time. Basically, we had a government which had incorrectly transcribed an EU di- rective, in order to excluded same sex-couples: on the basis that "it was not in Malta's national inter- est." So we've come a long way, since then. But this is also precisely why we need to remain vigilant, in the fight to protect civil liber- ties. They're not 'guaranteed'... At the same time, however: while Malta has made great pro- gress, LGBTQ activists still point towards a few lingering prob- lems. MGRM official Alex Caru- ana, for instance, argues that many of the hurdles you men- tion, could have been addressed by the Equality Bill. But it seems that – after facing a backlash from conservative forces (in- cluding Tonio Borg) – it has been placed on the backburner, since the last election. Can you con- firm whether or not this is true? Is the Equality Bill on the Parlia- mentary agenda, right now? The Equality Bill is a manifesto measure... and as such, you can rest assured that it is on the agen- da. We have, in fact, committed ourselves to re-tabling it, in Par- liament... So it hasn't been re-tabled, yet? No, not yet. Obviously, we are still working on it... and we also have to look at what's happening on a European level. There were proposals issued by the Commis- sion a few months ago, in fact. So we want to make sure that the legislation that we put forward, is in line with European standards. That's what we are working on, right now. I take it, then, that the delay has nothing to do with the (un- expectedly fierce) resistance put up by the Opposition, the Church, and various other bul- Malta has come a long way, in terms of civil rights; but REBECCA BUTTIGIEG – Parliamentary Secretary for Equality and Human Rights - admits that it is easier to change a law, than to change a country's entire mentality