A Facebook message suggesting that a transgender woman should be “raped without mercy” has drawn condemnation and led to public outrage.

The message was sent to a Raquel Richard, who shared it publicly. The screenshot exposes the offensive and disturbing message she received, where she was told that transgender women should “be raped without mercy”.

It was sent just a day after The Times of Malta’s magazine “Sunday Circle” made history by featuring local transgender activist Karly May on the cover.

The Malta Independent contacted Clayton Mercieca, community manager of Allied Rainbow Communities (ARC) to share his views.

“As ARC we are saddened that transgender people in Malta receive this kind of treatment and we hope that the respective authorities take initiative to investigate, as most likely Raquel will not report,” explained Clayton.

He said that unfortunately people who receive such daily harassment become used to it. “The government is right to say Malta’s LGBTQ laws are most inclusive in the world, however more needs to be done to protect the most vulnerable, especially transgender people. In such cases, where harassment is publicly broadcast, I would not wait for the victim to report but authorities need to take steps to investigate.”