This consultation has now concluded.
Download the outcome report
Feedback published
 Commissioner Mental Health.pdf |
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Joseph Carmel Chetcuti.pdf
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Please be informed that
submissions were published on the webpage of this consultation at the end of
the scoping phase. The lead Ministry has sole discretion upon the publication
of comments.
Received contributions, together with the identity of the contributor, were published on the Internet, unless the contributor objected to the publication of his/her personal data on the grounds that such publication would harm his/her legitimate interests. Any objections concerning the publication of personal data should be sent to the service responsible for the consultation on the following email address: onlineconsultations@gov.mt.
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Original Consultation
This
consultation ran from 15 December 2015 to 15 January 2016.
1. Development to Date
The LGBTIQ Action Plan for 2015 – 2017 formulated by the LGBTIQ Consultative Council includes the criminalisation of harmful ‘conversion therapies’ as one of a number of legislative and policy actions being proposed.
Conversion therapy seeks to change and, or to repress a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity and, or gender expression. Furthermore, the international community of professionals in education, social work, health, mental health and counselling has determined that there is no evidence towards the validity or effectiveness of so called conversion therapy. On the contrary, it is dangerous to the individual’s mental and physical health, in some cases leading to suicide. Therefore Government is seeking to protect these individuals from harmful practices by enacting a Bill which will criminalize conversion therapy. To date, four US states have banned conversion therapy. Should this Bill become law, Malta will be the first European country to criminalise such practice. The United Kingdom is currently considering a similar Bill.
On 15 December 2015, Minister Helena Dalli presented the draft Bill for the prohibition of conversion therapy as a deceptive and harmful act to Parliament for its first reading. This Bill is now also open for a round of public consultation.
Documents:
2. Consultation Questions
The Government is asking the general public to reflect on the proposed Bill and provide input as follows.
a) Where there is an issue with a specific Article in the Bill, a direct reference to the Article in question is made, and comments about what needs to be added or removed are presented as brief and direct as possible.
It will be appreciated if alternative formulations, additions, subtractions, etc., to ensure a correct understanding and the best reflection of the proposal/s being made.
b) Where there is an issue that the Bill is silent or is too generic about, the concern should first be explained and ideally formulated in terms of a concrete proposal.
3. Submission of Input
Submissions were sent through the following channels:
Ministry for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties
Barriera Wharf,
Valletta VLT 1971
All input towards this consultation were received by Friday, 15 January 2016.