A few weeks ahead of the debate, an unknown source leaked the list of speakers arguing in favour of abortion to pro-life activist Simon Debono who went on to share the list to pro-life groups across Facebook. The speakers were subject to backlash and his efforts to discourage them from taking part in the debate worked as 18 speakers dropped out.

The debate was supposed to be held on fairgrounds, with 27 speakers arguing in favour of abortion and 30 arguing against. Some pro-lifers went as far as contacting the speaker’s parents in hopes they could talk their children out of participating in this debate.

Medical students dropped out in fear of being academically punished. Students were scared that their more conservative lecturers would find out they support the pro-choice movement and would deliberately fail them.

KNŻ condemned this type of behaviour and assured the public that members of the organisation had no knowledge that the list was going to be leaked or used to intimidate others to drop out of the debate.

KNŻ National Officer, Bradley Cachia, stated that the list of speakers was an internal document that all of the people who were going to present on the day had access to, not just members of the executive. The person behind the leak has yet to be identified.

Labour MP Randolph De Battista took to social media to express his outrage concerning the situation. He argued that people should not be publicly shamed for the opinion they have and that “this mentality needs to stop.”

Pro-choice groups have spoken, with Doctor’s for Choice Malta stating the following:

This is how patriarchy works: through intimidation and threats. Nobody should push themselves too hard, but every little bit of courage is a step towards ending oppression once and for all. We’ll win over patriarchy, no doubt about that.

The aim of the debate was to create a safe space where youths could talk about serious matters in a safe space, however it ended with speakers dropping out due to public harassment and fear of academic punishment.

The post Pro-Choice Activists’ Names Leaked Online Ahead Of Debate, Causing Them to Back Out appeared first on The Third Eye.

Interviewed by Julia Bonello Boissevain | Written by Maya Pollacco

Abortion. The topic with misconceptions. The topic that the public chooses to shut their eyes and cover their ears, but open their mouths wide, to voice their opinions on how much they do not agree with it. The topic that is still being discussed whether it should be legalised and/or decriminalised.

On the 20th of August, an exhibition was held in Valletta, curated by Emma Grima in collaboration with Young Progressive Beings, supporting the pro-choice movement. The exhibition was inspired by the news of MP Jean Claude Micallef, who last year announced that he wanted to introduce a new law. This law was to investigate and PROSECUTE women travelling abroad for abortions. As soon as Grima heard the news, she felt this sudden urge to collaborate and create awareness on the matter at hand.

“In creation I am a chameleon, allowing for my topic to guide the process. It is important for me to be accessible to my audience and engage through interaction. Collaboration is a prominent part in my practice. Joining forces creates a healthy work environment, helping to enrich development.”

Emma Grima

We got to know Emma Grima, a Maltese visual artist, centring her practice around photography. With the power of her camera, Grima delves into topics concerning identity, feminism, and social behaviour. Her visual language focuses on the body and the movement influenced by her dance background. She gives us a rundown of the exhibition and the project, along with her thoughts and motives whilst working on it.

Julia: Why have you decided to focus on a topic like abortion and why is it relevant for the Maltese islands?

Emma: Last June in 2020 I was shaken by the news of MP Jean Claude Micallef who wanted to introduce a new law to investigate and prosecute women travelling abroad for abortions. It really upsets me that we are the last country in Europe with a complete blanket ban on abortion. Where is the body autonomy we deserve? At the same time, I also got to know about the Young Progressive Beings group and felt this sudden urge and fire within me to collaborate and create awareness by advocating for change in a pro-choice direction. Under the Criminal Code of Malta (Chapter 9 of the Laws of Malta), abortion is prohibited in all circumstances. The law states that “procuring a miscarriage under any circumstances is liable to imprisonment for a term from eighteen months to three years.” Considering that there are varied individual cases for wanting to terminate a pregnancy, it is hard to come to terms with such a blatant law constituting a complete blanket ban on abortion. A law so simply put to an issue so complicated is alarming and goes against female agency. Female agency is the awareness of individual rights and the independent ability to act upon one’s own individual will.

Julia: What was your inspiration for this topic?

Emma: I have been working on the topic of abortion for a year now, and these photos were the first step in my artistic exploration. The images exhibited are phase one of the project addressing the fight for change. The aim of this part of the project is to lend a voice and to show that there are Maltese citizens desperately wanting change in a pro-choice direction and not to be silenced any longer by the stigma that hovers over the island. As one of the images states “We Will Not be Silenced by Stigma”.

Julia: What is your earliest memory on the subject of abortion?

Emma: During our sexual education at school, boys and girls were separated. We were shown an ultrasound of an abortion and were forced to watch a fetus that looked pretty formed get crushed by giant forceps. As the forceps entered the womb, the fetus moved upwards into the uterus lining as though it was running for its life until the forceps crushed the fetus. This was very traumatizing for me and made me think abortion was murder back then. Many years later I found out that this film was very outdated and riddled with misconceptions and lies. Unfortunately, I forgot the name of the film.

Julia: How did your collaboration with Young Progressive Beings come about?

Emma: When I decided to delve into this topic, I immediately wished to collaborate with a pro-choice Maltese NGO to be able to receive first-hand information. Being taboo and criminalized, it is not easy to know how the situation is exactly being handled in Malta and how the people are dealing with it. I got to know about YPB through some friends who formed part of this group and so I contacted them expressing my interest in collaborating with them. From then on it went pretty smooth as the group was very happy to create awareness through my photography.

Julia: What challenges did you expect to face and what did you actually experience throughout this creative process?

Emma: The biggest challenge was to organize the shoot as I wanted to emphasize that there are a lot of people wanting change to create an impact. It took a month to gather participants and as abortion is a stigmatized topic, it was not easy asking people. I was quite nervous on the morning of the shoot, but then the result was outstanding. It was very emotional to see 40 people come together for the same cause. The second challenge was getting the permits from the Valletta local council and at a certain point, we nearly lost hope. It took us a year of persistence but in the end, they were happy to support this artistic project.

Julia: What results would you like to achieve through your project?

Emma: I would like to create a stir and create discussion about the topic. It is our hope that people will recognise how inhumane it is to legally ban women from having an abortion regardless of their mental or physical health.

In March 2019, KSU conducted a survey asking University students whether abortion should be legalised. 58.4% of the participants were against abortion.

Julia: What are your thoughts on this, if you could do anything to change the statistics amongst students, what would you do?

Emma: As mentioned, the topic of abortion is stigmatized and is not debated enough. Proper sexual education is lacking in school, which can result in badly made decisions. Most times men take a back seat with female-related topics. It would be interesting to find out the statistics if there was an equal number of male and female participants taking part. Two years have since passed by and more individuals are taking a pro-choice stance. I feel this shows in the images taken last year. I believe that addressing the younger population through public art in collaboration with the youth organization YPB will help increase a larger awareness on this topic on the island.

Julia: Do you have any other follow-up projects in relation to this topic?

Emma: Yes, as I mentioned earlier, this is phase one of the project. Phase two sheds a light on Maltese abortion stories. I depicted this through a 15-minute film where three Maltese women open up about their individual abortion stories, portraying their choice processes and emotional thoughts. Having to stay anonymous, three dancers were selected to represent their stories. Together we joined forces to carefully choreograph each individual story. The female dancers were able to channel these emotions as they had gone through this process themselves and understood the
weight of it.

Check out more of Emma Grima’s work through her socials:

• Website: https://emmagrima.com/
• Instagram: @emgrima

The post Unspoken Truths: Challenging Stigma With Emma Grima appeared first on The Third Eye.

Abortion.

Some are pro-choice, some are pro-life and some are on the fence. We take stances and quite often we’re not ready to argue and defend our stance because we’d rather let the topic gather dust than debate it.

We cannot deny that in today’s day and age we are overwhelmed by the huge amount of information that’s thrown at our faces. This is why many, and rightly so, leave it up to the professionals.

Doctors for Choice will be hosting a public lecture this Wednesday at 12pm in Gateway Hall A to discuss the situation in Malta. The lecture titled, “All you need to know” will have 3 key speakers;

• Dr Natalia Psaila who is a general practitioner shall be discussing the procedure which leads to the termination of pregnancy
• Dr Lara Dimitrijevic who is a lawyer will outline the intricacies of Maltese law on the subject; and
• Dr Andrea Dibben who is a social policy academic here at Uni will shed light on the social implications of a blanket ban on abortion.

It is important to note that the event will have time dedicated to questions and discussion so if you have any questions you’d like to ask or any thoughts that might need some straightening out, this is the perfect opportunity for you!

Maybe one day, we’ll be able to wipe away the dust and cobwebs and take a stance without feeling like we’re committing a crime. Maybe one day we’ll be able to debate this long-overdue topic.

The post Abortion – God forbid we mention it appeared first on The Third Eye.