'Notable shift' in Maltese mentality in favour of LGBTI+ rights

The mentality of the Maltese public has in recent years shifted signficantly in favour of rights to LGBTI+ people, civil liberties minister Helena Dalli claimed.

Speaking in parliament during a debate on this year’s Budget, Dalli cited a recent Eurobarometer survey in which 81% of Maltese respondents said they were in favour of the rights of trans-people to update their ID cards to match their gender identities.

“This is the second highest rate in Europe, behind only the Netherlands, and I am pleased that laws introduced by this government are leading to changes in people’s mentalities.”

She also noted that 70% of the Maltese public are in favour of full rights to trans-people and would “have no problem” with a trans-person as prime minister.

According to the study, 77% of the public believe that homosexual people should be given the same rights as heterosexual ones.

“Before the government legalized civil unions, we were warned that it would be opposed by 80% of the public,” Dalli recounted. “However, it is clear that the public is far more mature than that, and I am glad to see that laws introduced by this government have formed a more compassionate society that understands the reality faced by LGBTI+ people, who didn’t choose their sexual orientation but were born that way.”

She also cited a recent “The Economist” study that ranked Malta high in the civil liberties charts, indeed neck and neck with progressive countries such as Sweden.

She noted that the report ranked Malta 15th in last year’s Global Democracy Index, ahead of “countries we tend to look up to”, such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan and France. 

She noted that Malta also ranks highly with regards civil liberties, up there with progressive countries such as Sweden.