No gay marriage, but Malta is still most LGBT-friendly place

by Ivano Abbadessa - 2016.05.10

Even though it hasn't legalised same-sex marriage, Malta is the European country with the best LGBT rights. The Mediterranean island has taken the top spot on the Rainbow Map, the annual list compiled by the organisation ILGA-Europe. The list is based on a report that considers the conditions for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex people, taking into account the ability of a country to meet certain criteria. The criteria include the presence of anti-discrimination policies, the recognition of gender, freedom of expression, the punishment of hate speech, as well as marriage and adoption for same-sex couples, etc. Malta's success is due to its recent adoption of rules protecting trans and intersex people, as well as the 2014 law that introduced same-sex unions (including the right to adopt). After Valletta, Belgium and the UK are second and third on the 2016 ranking. Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan come last on the list. Italy, awaiting imminent approval of the law on civil unions, is in 35th place, after Romania and before Macedonia.



