fbpx Skip to main content
< Back to map

Malta

CEDAW Committee’s approach towards LBTI people in Malta has been categorised as Rights Affirming Reading for LBTI People because the CEDAW Committee has only made a mention of gender identity and sexual orientation in the Concluding Observations, without providing an analysis of Malta’s engagement with LBTI rights, especially as Malta has been recently very progressive in recognising the rights LBTI people, and the Committee could have provided some understanding on how some rights could be actualised.

Background Methodology Key findings

Lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LBTI) people enjoy a number of rights in Malta. Same-sex relationships were decriminalised in 1973 through an executive order, and civil unions for same-sex couples have been legal since 2014 through the Civil Unions Act 2014, while marriage was legalised in 2017 Marriage Act and other Laws (Amendment) Act, 2017.

Legal protection for LBTI persons in Malta exists in the area of employment, through the transposition of the European Union Employment Framework Directive. In 2014, the Parliament of Malta unanimously approved a bill that amended the Constitution to add protections from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

In April 2015, Malta became the first country in the world to outlaw sterilisation and invasive surgery on intersex people. The Gender Identity, Gender Expression And Sex Characteristics Act (2015) protects both trans and intersex people.

The last State party report was submitted in 2009 and contained no LBTI specific information.

During the 47th Session in 2010, which was Malta’s last, the Committee noted and appreciated that the “National Commission for the Promotion of Equality is competent to cover discrimination on the basis of sexual identity, amongst other forms of discrimination.”

Other general recommendations by the Committee which could apply to LBTI people within Malta are:

(a) Review and establish a women-centric definition of rape and violent assault with consent at its centre;

(b) Improve access to SRHR services, review its legislation on abortion and remove punitive measures for women who undergo abortion;

(c) Provide comprehensive information on the prevalence of trafficking, as well as create mechanisms for women who are victims of trafficking to access psychosocial aftercare.