EC Survey: Discrimination against Maltese nationals negligible
Racism ‘more widespread’
David Darmanin
European survey results have showed that Maltese nationals feature among the least Europeans to be affected by discrimination of any kind – be it related to gender, ethnic origin, religious belief, age, disability or sexual orientation.
The study, released earlier this month, forms part of the Eurobarometer series of surveys, conducted by the EC Directorate General for Communication.
While 16% of Europeans felt discriminated in some way over the past year, only 7% of Maltese nationals felt the same way, the survey shows. At 6%, only the Greeks (among all European citizens) registered a result lower than Malta’s in this regard.
The Maltese have also featured as the least Europeans witnessing discrimination against others over the past year.
In contrast, a minority of Maltese people (43%) agree that enough effort is being made in order to combat discrimination in Malta. 49% of all Europeans have agreed that the fight against discrimination is being handled satisfactorily in their respective countries.
Also way below European average, only 21% of the Maltese said they would report a case of discrimination to the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE). At 18%, only Estonians have less faith than Malta in their NCPE equivalent. In comparison, 35% of Europeans said they would file a report with their country’s NCPE equivalent. However, the Maltese ironically seem to be more convinced than the average European that government is putting in enough effort to combat discrimination on the workplace in terms of gender, age, ethnic origin, disability, religion or belief and sexual orientation.
Although a large number of Maltese citizens do not feel threatened by discrimination, a vast majority (of 77%) said that the maltreatment of ethnic minorities is widespread in Malta. Similarly, only 28% of Maltese think that discrimination on grounds of ethnic origin is less widespread in Malta compared to five years ago.
Shedding more light on the increasing popularity of xenophobic sentiments in Malta, the survey revealed that only 50% of Maltese respondents (compared to a European average of 67%) said they would support the monitoring of recruitment procedures in order to ensure that ethnic minorities are treated fairly when applying for a job. Compared to the EU average the Maltese also scored lower in terms of their support for the monitoring of workforces in order to ensure that ethnic minorities are fairly represented.
Although 45% of Maltese respondents claim to be aware of their rights in the eventuality of them being victims of discrimination, the same question asked last year showed a higher percentage (of 49%) of Maltese claiming to know what their rights are in this regard. The EU average of people being aware of such rights stands at 33%, placing Malta as the fourth most European country with its population claiming to be knowledgeable on human rights.
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