Gay Pride Archives - aditus foundation

Pride but not much Protection!

The story of two LGBTIQ+ clients: Ali & Ashraf

Facts

Ali and Ashraf* are two vulnerable LGBTIQ+ individuals, who faced sexual violence in their countries of origin as well as during their journey to Europe. They were referred to us by their social workers and doctors who they grew to trust over the course of a few months. Both Ali and Ashraf came from what are deemed to be “safe countries“** of origin.

On arrival in Malta they applied for asylum and were passed through a fast-tracked procedure due to the fact that they came from “safe countries”. The procedure was carried out when both, although extremely vulnerable, were being detained in Safi Detention Centre. They were not given any information prior to the asylum interview. Consequently, they did not mention that they are LGBTIQ+ individuals in fear of the consequences of making such statements, being unware of Malta’s position on the matter, and also in fear that they could be at risk of harassment or violence should the other detainees find out.

#Freetobeme Malta Gay Pride 2015

On Saturday 30 May we joined our friends and colleagues to march through Valletta for Malta’s 2015 Gay Pride March. Themed #Freetobeme, this year’s Pride was particularly jubilant seeing colourful floats and a more varied crowd.

“We’ve been marching in Malta’s pride for several years now. It’s a great time to meet up with our friends in the LGBTIQ networks, to celebrate our achievements and also to remind Malta of the various communities living around us.”

Visit our colourful Flickr photo album!

aditus participates in Malta Gay Pride activities

aditus Chairperson, Neil Falzon, participated in two events organised by the Malta Gay Rights Movement (MGRM). On Friday 8th, Neil delivered a presentation on the Forms of Legal Recognition of Same Sex Couples, a seminar organised by MGRM with the support of the US Embassy in Malta. Neil’s presentation provided an overview of the three main forms of legal recognition of same sex couples: marriage equality, registered partnerships, cohabitation.

The presentation may be downloaded here (pdf). The presentation was delivered in Neil’s capacity as Legal Advisor to MGRM.

The following morning Neil participated in I Am Pride, Malta’s Pride march that saw about 200 persons walking the streets of Valletta, followed by a number of speeches from representatives of the three political parties, and others.