Malta’s Green Party insisted LGBTIQ+ rights obtained over the years, must be protected and not be taken for granted and more efforts to ensure laws truly safeguard minority groups are needed.
ADPD as well as Kira Marie Peter-Hansen, a Danish MEP for the Green group EFA spoke out at a press conference in front of the parliament building in Valletta on Saturday as Europride events are drawing to a close.
ADPD chairperson Sandra Gauci said homophobic attacks during pride week, reported in the media “highlight even more the relevance of pride week and that the battle for rights is a daily one.”
Gauci emphasised that ADPD has always backed the LGBTIQ+ community in Malta and pledged to continue to do so, saying the party firmly believe that all people have a right to express themselves and their love freely.
The freedom to be oneself should not be stifled in the name of religion or children.
EuroPride was a mixed bag, said Mina Jack Tolu, ADPD’s Deputy chairman and spokesperson on European and civil rights.
While delivering hope by uniting LGBTIQ+ communities from Europe and beyond in various conferences and discussions, realities such as laws drawn up to safeguard but which were hampered by increased bureaucracy were made evident.
Among these are the hurdles faced by trans-children to access legal gender recognition or for trans people who are neuro-atypical/neuro-divergent to access trans-specific healthcare where even more steps are being added in between their access to healthcare and their starting point in their transition were highlighted by Tolu.
Also, the plight of LGBTIQ+ migrants seeking refuge in Europe who are not being safeguarded by LGBTIQ+ legislation and risk being sent back to countries Malta considers safe, although homosexuality is actually criminalised there.
Migrants face unacceptable barriers when trying to access legal aid and communicate with local NGOs and LGBTIQ+ communities which could help them in applying for asylum, Tolu said.
“Although Malta is at the forefront in civil rights there are still steps to be taken in order to ensure gender equality and equality for LGBTIQ+ people” Kira Marie Peter-Hansen said.
Peter-Hansen highlighted the current European and global backlash against the rights of minorities with conservative parties moving to the right and joining forces with extreme right parties, mentioning Italy, Spain, Sweden, Finland and the US.
She concluded by emphasizing the importance of “uniting progressive forces in driving the change to ensure equal rights and opportunities in all of Europe” and auguring that Malta would remain at the forefront of this struggle.