Hate Crime and Hate Speech

Malta extended its hate crime and hate speech provisions to cover the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity through The Criminal Code (Amendment) Act (ACT No. VIII of 2012) which introduced amendments to Articles 82A, 82C and 83B. Provisions for the grounds of gender expression and sex characteristics were introduced through the Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics Act of 2015.
 
Amendment to Articles 222A, 251D and 325A of the Criminal Code (Chapter 9 of the Laws of Malta) on the other hand set out the increase of punishment and severity of the offence for bias motivated crime. Changes were also affected to Article 6 of the Press Act to regulate hate speech. 
 
In 2018, The National Police System was amended to facilitate the capture and reporting of hate crime when such incidents are reported.

In service training on hate crime to police recruits and officers is regularly provided through the Academy for Disciplined Forces following the delivery of the Training Against Hate Crimes for Law Enforcement (TAHCLE) Programme of the OSCE.