30% of births in 2006 were outside wedlock

The Social Affairs Committee has called for more family friendly measures after research showed that 54 percent of mothers are returning to their jobs within six months of giving birth.

The parliamentary committee discussed the importance of education on healthy relationships at a second meeting with Dr Angela Abela, an expert on the subject.

She told the committee that 30% of births in Malta in 2006 were outside wedlock.

A study at the University found that nearly all students saw nothing wrong in cohabitation and 42% saw cohabitation as a step towards marriage.

Dr Abela expressed concern over a growing number of reports of casual sex which stemmed from excessive drinking.

And it had also been found that 21% of young people made dates with persons then came across on the Internet.

The members of the committee agreed with Dr Abela on the need for education aimed at healthy relationships. Dr Abela said such education should start in schools. Indeed, she said, research indicated that young people wanted to learn more on how to start, maintain, or end a relationship. Many young people, she said, drank heavily to overcome their fear of starting a relationship.

Dr Abela underlined the need for a proper work-family balance. Mothers needed to be given enough time to raise their children, with their fathers. This showed the need for more family-friendly measures, not least in the private sector, which was lagging the public sector in this area.

She noted that while the European average of maternity leave is 23 weeks, in Malta it was 13 weeks.

The committee meeting was presided by Nationalist MP Edwin Vassallo.