Parliament tonight unanimously approved the gender identity bill, titled an Act to provide for the recognition and registration of the gender of a person and to regulate the effects of such a change. The bill also provides for the recognition and protection of the sex characteristics of a person.

At the start of the debate, PN MP Clyde Puli assured parliament that the opposition would be fully supporting the gender identity bill but expressed concern over a number of points included in the bill.

A public consultation tied to the subject was held over a month last year. The bill was presented in parliament by Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli.

The government programme clearly states that the government intends to introduce a law that allows trans people to have their self-determined identity respected by law. The Bill was developed by the LGBTI Consultative Council. In the process, consultations were held with various local and international institutions and organisations to ensure that the law meets current standards and protects such individuals.

Mr Puli said: “We will be voting in favour of the bill because we have great respect towards human beings.”

But he said the Opposition’s main concern is the fact that a man, for instance, who wants to be acknowledged legally as being a woman without having undergone surgery can do so simply by making a declaration in the presence of a notary. The notary, he said, is not obliged to ask the person to produce a psychological certificate, opposed to other EU countries. This, he continued, may lead to irrational decisions. Are we wiser than other EU countries, he asked?

Those who live in other EU countries and experience what is called gender dysphoria, an incongruence between  sex and assigned gender, are referred to gender identity clinics made up of professionals. Some of those referred to these clinics actually end up changing their mind about their gender reassignment. 

He said it is vital such individuals, who are at their most vulnerable moment, are given the necessary support to make an informed decision before actually changing their gender identity.

Mr Puli highlighted that the problem withstanding – as happened in other countries – is that individuals can easily change their mind and that is why it is vital counselling sessions are offered to such individuals.

While stating that the Opposition is in favour of protecting the identity of the individuals who change their gender, he said that the Opposition supports the idea to a certain extent. He questioned whether a head of school, for instance, would be informed in the case a person who still attends school would have had a gender identity change.

He also questioned whether individuals who undergo a sex change would be placed in co-ed schools. He asked whether in the case of marriage banns, one would have the right to ask if the spouse-to-be would be able to verify whether there were any gender reassignments carried out. He also asked whether, eventually, the parents and Catholic and Muslim schools would still have the right to choose the moral formation of their children and students or if the state will be taking over the promotion of these values through an education programme promoting what is known as gender ideology.

PL MP Deborah Schembri told Mr Puli to decide whether he is in favour of the bill or in favour of gender ideology. “You cannot please everyone,” she said.

Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said that inclusivity must be built on a culture where all humans are treated equally. He said it is useless enacting a law or making amendments to a law without changing our mentality. Mr Bartolo referred to students who are bullied because they belonged to the LGBTI community. He said policies would be implemented in schools so that students tolerate and accept one another.

PN MP Joe Cassar – a psychiatrist by profession - explained that the use of the term gender started when it was acknowledged that a number of individuals had “ambiguous biological indicators”.

He said gender assignment is about identity assigned to a person when the person is born. Gender re-assignment is an official or legal change in gender.

Gender dysphoria is when a person experiences discomfort or distress due to a mismatch between the individual’s biological sex and gender identity.

He gave this explanation to emphasise that the bill should not leave the medical side of things out.

Shadow Health Minister Claudette Buttigieg said that the PN will be voting in favour but one had to look at the repercussions of the bill and if there are people out there who still do not understand the bill, they should not be treated as ‘enemies of the state’ and dubbed as being ignorant.

Winding up the debate, Minister Dalli praised the PN for stating it would be voting in favour of the bill but then pulled the rug from under their feet: “It is a great to learn that the PN in Opposition is voting in favour of the bill – a positive move.” In the past, she said, a PN government had denied the right to transgender hairdresser Joanne Cassar a right to marry, she said.

In 2013, following a change in government, a Labour government reached an out-of-court settlement with Joanne Cassar who, until then, had no other choice but to fight a legal battle all the way to the European Court of Human Rights for the respect of her right to marry.

Subsequently, the government went on to amend the Civil Code to allow trans people to be fully recognised in the acquired gender and be able to marry their opposite sex partner through the Civil Code (Amendment) Act, 2013.