Feminism has “gone too far”, according to the majority of Maltese respondents who participated in a Eurobarometer survey.

The report revealed that Malta is the second highest country in Europe, only behind Cyprus, that believes feminism has “gone too far”. Out of 507 respondents, 61% agree, 33% disagree and 4% do not know.

The large majority (79%) of respondents, however, believed that men would benefit from equality.

This survey follows a previous Eurobarometer report that showed that one in five people in Malta said that a woman is partly to blame if she suffers sexual violence while drunk or high.

The survey further suggests that some gender stereotypes are still at large in Malta.

It has one of the highest percentages (63%) among EU countries that believe that women should dedicate their time to family responsibilities, according to the survey's responses. 

Almost half of the respondents (46%) believe that the most important role of a woman is to take care of her home and family. Here, the response in Malta was recorded as being higher than the EU average by 10 percentage points.

More than two-thirds – 69% – of respondents also think that family life suffers when a mother has a full-time job; the EU average sits at 51%.

The large majority (88%) of respondents, however, agreed that it is equally important for women and men to be financially independent.

Also, only one-tenth of respondents said that men should have the final say in family decisions, which is well below the EU average of 20%.

Three quarters of Maltese respondents also disagreed that having children is more fulfilling for a woman than a man, whereas the EU average shows that 53% disagrees with this.