The horrendous murder of a young Polish woman, Paulina Dembska, in Sliema early on Sunday sent a chill down the spine of the whole nation.

When I read about the murder in the online media as the first reports were coming through, I was truly shocked.  Then, as more details started to emerge, the shock turned into anger as the circumstances of the murder seemed to point at gender-based violence in its most extreme and horrific form.

Last Tuesday a sizeable crowd attended the vigil which was held in Paulina’s memory.  I was there too, as was the Prime Minister, Dr Lydia Abela and a number of political figures from various quarters of the political spectrum.  It was a really touching occasion and in all that quiet, in all that sadness, one could not help but reflect about the cruel realization that a person has been robbed of her life in circumstances of violence which indicate that they were gender-based.

I would like to thank all NGOs and members of the civil society who organized the vigil.  I am very proud of all those who showed up.

Standing there, I could not help but ask myself over and over again: why would, in today’s society, a young person - any young person - brutally rape and murder a woman in such a manner?  Are we all, as a society, doing enough to combat certain sentiments of misogyny which are still around?  Is each and every one of us doing his and her best to combat all forms of sexism?

We have to be loud and clear: there is no room for patriarchal sentiments in our country which unfortunately are still present in some parts of our society.   

Those amongst us who secretly still believe in social systems in which men hold primary power and predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property have to be told clearly that what they believe in is wrong and that their ideas might give rise to ugly consequences.

Legislation is an important part of the whole debate.  A lot has been done in the past years.  Chapter 581 of the Laws of Malta (Gender Based Violence and Domestic Violence Act), which was put into effect in 2018, made the operative parts of the Istanbul Convention an integral part of our laws and consequently strengthened the punishments and penalties against the perpetrators of gender-based violence, while introducing new legal safeguards.

In 2015, we introduced the Victims of Crime Act (as subsequently amended in 2018 and 2021) whereby victims, including victims of sexual offences and gender-based violence, were afforded new rights and remedies.

The Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) within the Council of Europe, in a report on Malta published on 23 November 2020 highlighted a number of positive legal and policy measures that have been taken by the Maltese authorities, which, in the words of the report, “demonstrate firm resolve to stem violence against women.”

Yet legislation is not the start-all and end-all.  Rather, it is one of a series of steps we have to undertake in order to bring about change.  Definitely the most important factor is the need of winning over the hearts and minds of people - that is what we all need to work towards, together.

As was stated last year when the government launched the second strategy against gender-based violence and domestic violence, education is key because it is through that process that we can bring about real change.

A lot of good work is being done in this context, as the Grevio Malta report confirms: “teaching material on issues such as equality between women and men, non-stereotyped gender roles, mutual respect, non-violent conflict resolution in interpersonal relationships, sexual education, and to a certain extent, domestic violence are included in the mandatory national curriculum starting at primary school and its content is adapted to the maturity and capacity of the student.”

Yet, this is not enough. We need to do more.

One of the things we launched a few weeks ago was the pilot project called “Safe Dates” which is an educational programme which will eventually form part of the PSCD syllabus, whereby students in their teen years are educated and informed about the dangers which can come about in dating relationships and how they can tackle emotions and difficult situations during those dating relationships.  This will certainly make a difference and will make the PSCD syllabus more relevant.  We will keep doing more work in that direction.

Education should not stop at compulsory school age, but needs to be provided, in the form of training, to all professions and workers involved in preventing and combating violence against women be they members of the police force, members of the judiciary, Court experts or professionals co-ordinating supervised access visits.  Again, a lot of work is being done but we need to keep doing more and we have to keep doing more.

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For a long time much of our understanding of LGBTIQ issues and the lived experiences of LGBTIQ persons were dependent on studies conducted in other countries.

What we learnt from this research may have contributed towards driving legal and policy change in Malta in the field of LGBTIQ equality. However, as we move forward with our mainstreaming efforts, a more targeted approach, that specifically focuses on what it means to be an LGBTIQ person in Malta today is essential.

Knowing the challenges LGBTIQ youth face; finding ways of supporting Rainbow Families; ensuring we continue to develop a robust legal and policy framework; expanding our work to incorporate new fields such as those relating to LGBTIQ elderly persons or LGBTIQ athletes; and exploring the interplay between LGBTIQ identities and religion are some of the themes addressed in a publication which we published this week.

Please do take a look at it here:

https://humanrights.gov.mt/en/Documents/Mapping the Rainbow Vol II.pdf.   The second edition of “Mapping the Rainbow” makes very interesting reading indeed.

I commend all the authors for their contributions to building a body of knowledge that can provide insight on specific issues and highlight gaps in policy and service provision that may still need to be addressed.

It augurs well for the intersectional approach that we have taken in respect to the development of equality strategies which requires engagement with a range of disciplines. I also commend the collaborative effort that has given rise to this second publication in the Mapping the Rainbow series, a project which I hope will continue well into the future as the number of those choosing to focus on this area of study, across a range of faculties, continues to grow.

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The tragic death of Dr Victor Calvagna hurt all of us.  Dr Calvagna was a hero and will remain hero in our hearts.

The work he did was outstanding.  I meet people, week in week out, heaping praise on this beloved oncologist.  Puttinu will be a living legacy of his.

Rest in peace Dr Calvagna!

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Dr Calvagna’s tragic death followed the demise of another top Surgeon, Cardiologist Albert Fenech. I had come to know Albert Fenech personally due to his brief stint in Parliament and he had a very likeable character.

I extend my condolences to the Fenech family.