Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/621909
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 3 JANUARY 2016 12 News 2016 Looking ahead Women, equality, law THE Chamber of Advocates hopes during the New Year to build on the progress made in 2015. 2015 was a good year. We've made good progress on various fronts, espe- cially with the Lawyers Act. The bill proposing the Lawyers Act had been presented in parliament by the previous administration but after a great deal of discussion, the Chamber is close to fi- nalising a revised draft, in time for its second reading. It takes time for certain ideas to mature but I think we are all happy with the revised draft. We look forward to it being enacted in 2016. In 2016 we will call for less govern- ment input when it comes to the ap- pointment of new judges or magistrates, repeating a call I had made in October in my speech at the start of the forensic year. I think we need to have more discus- sions to understand each other better. We hope for a higher appreciation by the government of the importance that it loosen the hold it has on the appointment of the judiciary. We have been saying all along that the executive should not be involved in this process, but should act in line with a recruitment procedure which is more open and transparent. During 2016 the committee will also be working hard to reach out to law- yers who do not work in court, with a strengthened resolve to bring these law- yers closer to the chamber. They may feel less part of the profession for this reason [not practising in court] but law- yers are lawyers, wherever they work. We are bound by the same code of eth- ics. We also want to strengthen controls to avoid ethics breaches. We are revis- ing our code of ethics and want to make sure that everybody sticks by the rules, for the benefit of the client and also for the benefit of the profession itself. Aside from that there is also the small matter of revisiting and updating the Chamber's statute which also needed to be addressed. A lot of work! Higher regulation of the profession is undoubtedly a good thing which is why we look forward to the new Lawyers Act to help the chamber modernise the pro- fession, and improve efficiency and con- trols in line with what is required from a modern, forward-looking profession. As told to Matthew Agius We will call for less government input when it comes to the appointment of new judges or magistrates 2015 will be remembered as a year in which Malta made signif- icant strides in its equality legisla- tion and policy. Parliament's unanimous adoption of the Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics Act is testament to how far we have come in terms of the recognition and respect of minorities. Indeed, we are no longer satisfied with meeting minimum in- ternational criteria (where they apply), and are instead taking the lead in developing the right framework to meet our needs. The protection afforded to trans, intersex and gender queer people through this par- ticular law is world class and has been cel- ebrated by LGBTIQ human rights organi- sations the world over. Additionally, the country's relentless efforts in this field led us to take the top spot on the ILGA-Europe scoreboard in terms of LGBTIQ-friendly legislation and policy. This year, Malta also ratified Protocol 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Protocol will come into effect on 1 April, 2016. Its provisions will remove the current limitation on the application of the non-discrimination Article of the Con- vention, and will thus provide individuals much greater protection against any dis- crimination that may be perpetrated against them by a public authority. This year too, the government set up the Human Rights and Integration Directorate to conduct work in the fields of civil liberties, equality and anti-discrimination policies, as well as the integration of migrants. Additionally, on International Human Rights Day, the government launched two new bills that are meant to enhance the human rights and equality infrastructure of the country. The adoption of these bills would see the setting up of an independ- ent and United Nations accredited human rights mechanism falling under Parliament – the Human Rights and Equality Commis- sion. Additionally, the protection against dis- crimination will be extended to all spheres of life, including access to goods and serv- ices, education, medical care, housing and financial services to mention but a few. NGOs, trade unions and other organisa- tions will be able to lodge complaints with the Commission to support individual vic- tims of discrimination. They will also be able lodge a complaint of general concern or one that concerns a particular sector, minority or group of society, despite that they are not directly concerned. These new complaints mechanisms will surely help to increase civil society involvement in guar- anteeing equality in our daily life. Particular attention is being afforded to the issue of violence against women, which is a scourge on society as a whole. Various publicly sponsored campaigns are going on at the moment, and work is ongoing on the development of a bill that will ensure that Malta gives effect to all the legal require- ments of the Istanbul Convention tackling violence against women and domestic vio- lence. Additionally, as EU level reports in- dicate that as many as one in three women are victims of violence across the continent, Malta has already indicated to the relevant EU institutions that this issue will be high- lighted during its Presidency in 2017. Along with the above, the government has presented a bill to criminalise so-called 'conversion therapies' against any sexual orientation, gender identity or gender ex- pression, and is expected to present a bill to introduce a legal framework regulating cohabitation shortly. All of this augurs well for a more equal 2016. The country's relentless efforts in this field led us to take the top spot on the ILGA-Europe scoreboard IN 2016 we will see an increase in the number of women in the labour market due to the measures in place, namely with the free childcare scheme, Klabb 3-16 after school hours service, the Breakfast Club, and maternity leave fund. The traditional expectations will continue to loosen their rigidity and we can expect a shift in the gender stere- otypical roles of women and men. With Malta holding the EU Council Presidency in 2017, we are hoping to see a coordinated action plan with identi- fied goals in terms of gender equality. What we would like to see this year is an increase in women in decision mak- ing positions. We have a very low female representation in government-appointed boards and committees. Concrete measures to ensure at least 30% participation of women in all areas of decision making, including Parliament to strengthen our country's democracy and to capitalise on the potential of all citizens. This needs to be addressed together with an educational campaign on what such a measure means and its benefits. We also want to see initiatives to increase the number of women in entrepreneurship. We have a very low rate compared with the EU, and a unit should be set up at Malta Enter- prise to focus on this objective with financial help and mentoring. This would also mean more initiatives to im- prove the reconciliation of work and family, for example, parental leave for fathers on a 'use or lose' principle; extension of the current three month unpaid parental leave in the private sector to six months; more fathers sharing domestic responsibilities. More working mothers move in and out of paid work be- cause of family commitments and tend to work part-time, and in precarious work and therefore this affects the risk- of-poverty rate of women and the gender pay gap. With regards to violence against women, we want to see sufficient financial allocation for the implementation of the Istanbul Convention which was ratified by Malta over a year ago to include additional resources for shelters of victims of domestic violence and other very important measures. We would also like to see alleged perpetrators of violence against women to be made to wear digital bracelets for tracking purposes. We also want to see funds for the setting up of a Gen- der Identity Clinic and Gender Reassignment Services, Study into LGBTIQ Women's Health Needs, Programmes in Schools addressing Gender Stereotypes, the empower- ment of girls and the education of boys against violence and Police Training on Hate Crime, that is how to re- spond, reporting and monitoring. We also want a rejection by policy makers of anything that undermines the human dignity, bodily integrity, the rights of women, and the overall wellbeing of society, for example, through the damaging effects of pornography, prostitution, 'gentlemen's clubs' etc that feeds into the system of exploitation of vulnerable women and young girls. And we also would like to see the protection of the hu- man rights of women migrants and asylum seekers. Wom- en and girls fleeing conflicts and war face various forms of male violence in their journey and multiple discrimination due to widespread prejudices. This year we want a more visible commitment to pro- mote change for women and girls in Malta and a more feminist Malta which translates into women enjoying the same rights as men in a just and fair manner and having same access to opportunities and experiences as men. Lorraine Spiteri, chairperson Malta Confederation of Women's Organisations Dr George Hyzler, President of the Chamber of Advocates Silvan Agius, director Human Rights and Integration Directorate 'More women needed in decision-making' 'We'll give legal effect to Istanbul Convention's requirements to tackle violence against women' 'We will strengthen controls to avoid ethics breaches'