Friday 29 June 2012

Di-ve: Gay rights movement welcomes Hate Crime law

http://www.di-ve.com/Default.aspx?ID=72&Action=1&NewsId=93306
by di-ve.com - editorial@di-ve.com
20 June 2012 - 08:25CEST

The Malta Gay Rights Movement (MGRM) welcomed the passing of Hate Crime Legislation approved by Parliament last night and said that the act extends the scope of the law from race and creed to also include sexual orientation and gender identity.

In a statement MGRM thanked both sides of the House for supporting the bill and sending a strong message to society that targeting someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity is unacceptable and will incur tougher penalties.

“This Bill was proposed during a protest following the incident against two young lesbians in Ħamrun earlier this year and was supported by aditus, We Are, LGBT Labour, Drachma and Drachma Parents, Graffitti, ADZ and Integra Foundation,” MGRM said. “The courage of these young people to report the crime played an important role in providing the required impetus to move forward with this legislative proposal which had been on MGRM's agenda for a number of years,” the movement added.

MGRM said that the next step is ensuring that police are adequately trained in dealing with such crimes and in actively reaching out to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community to ensure that victims feel safe to come forward and report such incidents. “Adequate data collection is also essential,” it said.

“We also look forward to the passing of a second bill which will extend the remit of the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality to also cover sexual orientation and gender identity. This is expected to take place this week. It will allow the Commission to act as mediator and to investigate allegations of discrimination in employment on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity,” said MGRM.

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