Stay Safe During Pride 🌈

Pride in Gozo and Malta is a joyful and welcoming celebration of love, acceptance, and unity. We are privileged to live in a country where homophobic incidents and hate crimes are rare, and Maltese law strongly protects the rights of LGBTI+ people. Still, not everyone supports Pride, and community members or allies may sometimes be targeted. For that reason, a little extra caution goes a long way.

To help everyone feel safe and supported, LGBTI+ Gozo has prepared safety guidelines to keep our community aware of available resources, strategies, and tools for staying safe this Pride. 

Pride Safety: 

1. Travel and Stay With Friends

2. Avoid attending protests, marches, or events alone. Go with friends, or reach out to community groups if you’d like to join their groups. Stay together and look out for each other. 

3. Make a safety plan with your group: choose a familiar meeting point in case you get separated, or if you need to leave quickly.

4. Stay in touch with the people you came with throughout the event. Make your own Pride group on Messenger, Whatsapp, or chat to stay connected with your crew. 

Keep Yourself & Your Belongings Safe

• Be vigilant of your surroundings and keep your belongings secure. 

• It’s still hot in September, so stay hydrated, have snacks handy, and if you are drinking, keep an eye on your drink and go to a friend or the bartender if you feel sick or unwell. Please do not drink and drive. 

• Save important numbers in your phone:

  • Emergency: 112

  • Victim Support Agency helpline: +356 116006

  • LGBTI+ Gozo: +356 99356622

  • Gozo Police

    • Victoria/Rabat: +356 22944200

    • Marsalforn: +356 21556415

    • Mgarr: +356 22944306

• If you ever feel unsafe, remove rainbow items from sight if possible and trust your instincts — leave the situation quickly. 

• If you find yourself in an alarming situation, focus on staying calm. Call the above emergency numbers and ask others around you for help. 

• Make sure your phone is charged and carry enough money for a cab (e.g., Bolt or Uber).

Stay Within the Pride Spaces

• Stick to the official parade route and event venues.

• On 6th September, your nearest safe points are:

  • Pride Village, Villa Rundle – 10:00 to 13:00

  • Qawsalla Hub, Triq Enrico Mizzi, Victoria – 13:00 to 18:30

Look out for our LGBTI+ Gozo team and volunteers — we’ll be wearing white t-shirts with the LGBTI+ Gozo logo on the front and “volunteer” on the back. These volunteers can be located during the march if you encounter difficulties. Emergency services, police, and added security will be present at the march. 

If an Incident Happens

• Avoid disputes or responding to provocation. 

• If you witness an incident:

  • If possible, record it from a safe distance.

  • Call the police (112) if there is a threat or violence.

  • Take screenshots of aggressive messages. 

  • Report what happened, where, and who was involved. 

  • Do not share footage online if it may be needed as evidence.

• If you are a victim of a homophobic or transphobic assault:

  • Call Victim Support (+356 116006), Police/Emergency (112), or LGBTI+ Gozo (+356 99356622).

  • Victim Support can report on your behalf confidentially, guide you through the process, and provide counselling.