Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/849592
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 9 JULY 2017 News 11 2015 Despite having been the one to table the amendments in parliament, Buttigieg himself was no liberal flag bearer. Chetcuti writes that Buttigieg depicted homo- sexual persons "as predators and accused us of flaunt- ing our sexuality". 2004 Following pressure by the European Union, the PN government introduces sexual orientation as grounds for discrimination at the place of work It took months of pressure to convince the Nationalist government to introduce sexual orientation as grounds for discrimination at the place of work. Despite being a requirement by Malta during its accession to the Eu- ropean Union, the government stood its ground and refused to add the words "sexual orientation" insisting that there was no such need. Lawrence Gonzi, then social policy minister, argued that existing legislation was enough to ban discrimina- tion against gays at the place of work. "The issue that has been discussed is whether we need to mention these areas specifically. The opinion of legal experts given to us here in Malta is that we do not need to be specific; the clause mentions some areas as examples but it does not exclude all the other areas," Gonzi had argued. But during a visit to Malta, the then head of the Eu- ropean Commission Employment and Social Affairs Directorate General, Odile Quintin, insisted that all grounds covered by the directive must be "spelt out specifically in Maltese law". Malta's position was forcing the European Com- mission's hand in initiating proceedings against the country. Then, in 2004, Gonzi issued a sneaky legal notice, LN 297, which introduced sexual orientation as grounds for discrimination at the workplace. Silvan Agius, director human rights and integration directorate at the Ministry for Equality, describes the equal treatment as an important milestone for the gay community in Malta. "While this legal notice may seem very small next to other more important law, it was one of the biggest wins of MGRM in the early years," he says. 2012 Protection against hate crime and hate speech introduced on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity It's 13 January, 2012, the time reads 7.30pm and a young lesbian couple is sitting on a bench at the Ham- run square. One of the girls is just 16 years old. They are with two other friends. Two young brothers, 17 and 19, stand on the balcony and start hurling insults. The girls answer back. Sud- denly, the boys are in the square, attacking the girl, punching her and dragging her by the hair. The rea- son? Her sexual orientation. The teenager suffered a fractured nose, grazes to her face and bruises on her breasts. Her girlfriend was pushed to the group, causing a bruise to her head and scratches on her wrists. The incident sent shockwaves through society, prompting Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to an- nounce a review of hate crimes. The amendments in- troduced offences in relation to gender, as well as gen- der identity and sexual orientation, and to increase the punishment meted out for such offences. The bill also amended the Press Act provisions on the publication of hate speech. 2013 Joanne Cassar wins right to marry After a nine-year legal battle, with a case pending be- fore the European Court of Human Rights, transgender Joanne Cassar is granted the right to marry. It was the first decision, in the civil liberties camp, taken by the Labour Party in its first few weeks in government in 2013. the Family Court green-lit the adoption of baby Ben by two men and the news was posted on social media by one of his parents, Kris Grima. In a touching Facebook post, Grima had written: "Today we may formally introduce our beautiful son; because we are forever grateful for the moment and to be living out our dream as parents and Ben's dream of having a loving family." December 2016 Malta outlaws gay conversion therapy With the passing of the Affirmation of Sexual Ori- entation, Gender Identity and Gender Expression Bill, Malta became the first country in Europe to ban gay conversion. The law makes conversion practices illegal and cat- egorises them as a deceptive and harmful act. Under the Affirmation of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Gender Expression Bill, conversion prac- tices, and their advertising, will be met with fines and potentially a prison sentence. The changes to the Gender Identity, Gender Ex- pression and Sex Characteristics Act lower the age at which persons may request a change in gender. The amendments allow anyone who is 16 years or older to have their gender changed without needing to file an application in Court and will not require parental ap- proval. April 2017 Cohabitation rights for all couples introduced In April 2017, parliament approved the long-overdue Cohabitation Act, aimed at protecting the most vul- nerable from abuse. The new law caters for three types of arrangements. The first, 'de facto cohabitation', will automatically come into force when two individuals in a relationship are living together. This arrangement offers couples limited rights including the recognition of a partner as one's next of kin, the right to take decisions of a medi- cal nature. Couples will also have the right not to testi- fy against each other in court under this arrangement. The second type of arrangement will see couples en- tering into a contract of their own choosing, signed by a notary, that defines the legal terms of their re- lationship; the third arrangement can be entered into unilaterally, and is intended for people who are living in a state of abuse, in order for their relationship to be recognised by the state. July 2017 Malta becomes 24th country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage Finally, last Wednesday, the Maltese parliament voted to legalise same-sex marriage with 66 votes in favour, and one against. It was a debate that saw conservatives criticising the use of gender-neutral terms, with some going at length to state that this could spell the end of "Mother's Day" and "Father's Day". "I think this is an historic vote. It shows that our de- mocracy and our society are maturing ... It is a soci- ety where we can all say we are equal," Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said, just after the vote was taken and before he joined the jubilant crowds gathered outside Auberge de Castille. PN MP Edwin Vassallo was the only member of par- liament to vote against the Bill, despite not being the only opposition MP to object to the Bill. The rest of the PN MPs toed the party line – whilst Mario Galea, Claudio Grech and Carm Mifsud Bonnici were not present for the vote. 2016 2016 2017 2017 MARRIAGE EQUALITY 2015 Malta passes Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics Act 2016 Malta's first child adopted by a gay couple December 2016 Malta outlaws gay conversion therapy April 2017 Cohabitation rights for all couples introduced