https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/20530 Previously known as Department of Gender Studies 2026-10-24T17:34:38Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/149513 Title: Mapping the rainbow : researching the diverse colours of the LGBTIQ+ community (volume IV) Authors: Naudi, Marceline; Harwood, Mark; Azzopardi Lane, Claire Abstract: This publication features research papers conducted by academics, undergraduate, masters and doctoral students which primarily focus on LGBTIQ+ related topics. This publication together with its previous volumes, continues to build on the body of knowledge that is available to better educate political development and mainstreaming efforts. The eleven research papers published cover a broad range of themes, and together constitute the proceedings of an LGBTIQ+ Research Symposium held in May 2025. This project has been made possible through the collaboration between the Department of Gender and Sexualities within the Faculty for Social Wellbeing and the Institute for European Studies of the University of Malta, the Malta LGBTIQ Rights Movement and the Human Rights Directorate within the Ministry for Equality and Civil Rights. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/149512 Title: Disabled women, violence, and the politics of the body in Malta Abstract: This paper analyses violence against disabled women in Malta through the lens of feminist disability theory, conceptualising abuse as an embodied and structurally produced phenomenon rather than as isolated acts of victimisation. Drawing on qualitative research with frontline professionals and advocates, the study examines how violence emerges at the intersection of gendered power relations, ableism, dependency regimes, and epistemic injustice. Findings show that abuse often takes cumulative and holistic forms, including emotional degradation, financial control, sexual exploitation, coercive restrictions on movement, and physical violence. Emotional and psychological abuse appear particularly pervasive, gradually reshaping women’s embodied sense of self and reinforcing internalised narratives of incapacity and unworthiness. Financial abuse, especially through guardianship arrangements and control of disability pensions, further restricts autonomy and entrenches dependency. Institutional responses may inadvertently reproduce ableist assumptions through procedures that question the credibility of disabled women’s testimonies or impose inaccessible legal processes. Rather than framing disabled women as inherently vulnerable, the paper argues that vulnerability is socially produced through legal, institutional, and cultural arrangements that regulate sexuality, mobility, and decision-making. At the same time, advocacy practices such as accompaniment, rights education, and resistance to unnecessary incapacitation illustrate forms of embodied resistance that challenge these structures and foreground disabled women as epistemic agents. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148945 Title: Gender and Sexualities Conference 2026 abstract book Abstract: The Gender and Sexualities Conference 2026 took place on May 6–7, 2026, hosted by the University of Malta's Department of Gender & Sexualities in collaboration with the Maltese Human Rights Directorate, which falls under the Ministry for European Funds, Equality, Reforms and Social Dialogue. The two-day academic event was held at the Spazju Kreattiv (St James Cavalier) in Valletta. This edition brought together ambassadors, distinguished researchers, policymakers, artists and students.; The voices and perspectives derived from different countries across the globe, including Malta, Sweden, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Scotland, Greece, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, India, Pakistan, Italy, the United States of America, Belgium, Turkey, Nigeria, Canada, Hungary, Morocco, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Romania. [excerpt from the Introduction] 2026-05-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148944 Title: Introduction [Gender and Sexualities Conference 2026] Abstract: The Gender and Sexualities Conference 2026 took place on May 6–7, 2026, hosted by the University of Malta's Department of Gender & Sexualities in collaboration with the Maltese Human Rights Directorate, which falls under the Ministry for European Funds, Equality, Reforms and Social Dialogue. The two-day academic event was held at the Spazju Kreattiv (St James Cavalier) in Valletta. This edition brought together ambassadors, distinguished researchers, policymakers, artists and students.; The voices and perspectives derived from different countries across the globe, including Malta, Sweden, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Scotland, Greece, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, India, Pakistan, Italy, the United States of America, Belgium, Turkey, Nigeria, Canada, Hungary, Morocco, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Romania. This breadth of experience and knowledge was at the heart of what made this gathering so meaningful. Both presenters and audience members were exposed to differing perspectives and lived experiences. The conference provided a space for shared learning and exchange where dialogue and mutual learning took place. 2026-05-01T00:00:00Z