Prime Minister Joseph Muscat agrees that there needs to be a change in the practices and procedures used in cases of domestic violence.
On Monday, Nathalie Williams was found to have been kept in an underground space near Fort Ricasoli and Fort Rinella for three days. Her estranged husband has been charged with attempted murder and a number of other offences.
The victim’s father told this newsroom that Williams previously filed several police complaints about domestic violence against her estranged husband, Roddy Williams from the Seychelles.
The Malta Independent asked Prime Minister Joseph Muscat whether, given that the woman had made a number of reports to the police in the past yet the aforementioned incident still occurred, he believes there needs to be a change in the practices and procedures in the way such cases are handled.
“Yes definitely, there needs to be a change for the simple reason that issues and reports of domestic violence cannot be treated as run of the mill. I believe there have been a number of improvements over a number of years. Still I do not think we are geared in the necessary way to treat them in the way they should be. On a positive note I believe the police did a good job in tracing her down to the area she was being held. It’s a shocking account. Yes you are right and it is something we have been working on for the past few months and we have accelerated those changes.”