Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/530451
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 21 JUNE 2015 16 News IT seems as though Malta has be- come a progressive gender-equal- ity mecca over the last couple of years. At least that's what re- cent key LGBTIQ developments would have you believe. The passing of the civil unions bill, celebrated to colourful fanfare at St George's Square in the spring of 2014, was seen by its support- ers as a step towards ensuring Malta is in line with the 'rest of the modern world' – overly flex- ible as that term may be – and it had something of an edge to it since it also included adoption within its remit. But the more recent passing of the Gender Identity Bill – which safeguards the rights of people under the trans* spectrum while also allowing them to change gender without the barriers of intrusive bureaucracy – proved to be an even bigger coup, grab- bing headlines around the world due to its inclusive, and in many ways unprecedented, approach to gender rights. In terms of sheer 'national pride marketing', it was refreshing. For once, this outwardly Catholic- across-the-board country, which had only introduced divorce in 2011 and underwent an embar- rassing censorship saga not too long before that, was suddenly looked upon in admiration. In certain quarters of the interna- tional sphere, Malta was not just about sun and sea anymore, but – astonishingly – about progressive gender legislation too. Of course, such wide-ranging developments don't just occur overnight, and more often than not arise as a result of long, hard work behind the scenes by con- cerned lobby groups. But the fact that neither the civil unions bill nor its gender identity counterpart arrived on the scene with little to no criticism from conservative quarters perhaps marks an interesting develop- ment for Malta's socio-cultural fabric. Is it really the case that the Maltese population was ready to receive such groundbreaking legislation with open arms? Or is it a case of the more conservative opting to be silent, for whatever reason? Silvan Agius, Policy coordinator for Hu- man Rights within the Ministry for Civil Liberties and one of the driv- ing forces behind the gender iden- tity bill, cautioned against assuming that full equality has been already achieved, while outlining the im- portant progress that has taken place. "Amongst others, government set up an LGBTIQ consultative council, introduced the civil un- ions law, amended the Constitu- tion to introduce protection on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, and intro- duced an act regarding gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics," Agius ex- plained, highlighting that all of this in a relatively short period of time, "catapulting Malta to the 3rd spot on ILGA-Europe's rain- bow index, up from the 18th po- sition in 2013". Asked to explain how a country could 'catapult' forward in this way, Agius suggests that political will has a lot to do with it – flag- ging up other European countries as an example and, most notably, the recent Irish referendum on same-sex marriage. "Such fast progress is possible when there is political will on the part of government. Spain was not considered progressive on LGBTIQ equality until the Zapa- tero government implemented a string of changes. The same can be said about Portugal's slow progress until Soc- rates' socialist gov- ernment took office. Both of these coun- tries are considered mainly Catholic, as is Ireland, which a few weeks ago has seen a 62% vote in favour or marriage equality," Agius said, adding that the case of Ireland in particular points to the fact that, "the presumption that Catholics are automatically against LGBTIQ equality is false, and that the real- ity is more nuanced than that". Long-time gay activist and Bar- rister at the State of Victoria, Australia Joseph Carmel Chet- cuti expressed a similar opinion, stating that the religious and conservative facets of society shouldn't be viewed as a "mono- lithic block". "There are some if not many 'conservatives' and members of the clergy that support equal marriage," Chetcuti said, point- ing out that this ambivalence can even be found within the LGBTQI community, the focus of some activists being "more on equal rights than on being part of an archaic and anachronistic in- stitution". Another contributing factor, according to Chetcuti, is the fact the Church "no longer oc- cupies the moral high ground", in the wake of a number of cases of abuse by priests coming to light, along with "the failure of the Church to pay adequate fi- nancial compensation" for these Malta's great leap forwardin 2014: legalisation of civil unions Silvan Agius Conservative silence on The landmark civil union and gender identity bills have been hailed as revolutionary, and welcome, human rights breakthroughs for Malta by many. But how curious is it that there hasn't been a concerted backlash to these key developments from conservative quarters, TEODOR RELJIC asks?