Victims of domestic violence area reaching out for support but are not finding it, Krista Tabone, the director if Victim Support Malta, has warned.
Tabone is also calling for stronger emergency measures to ensure that the victims of domestic violence are given the necessary protection.
A march against femicide is being organized in Valletta today in the wake of attacks on female victims, the latest and most shocking one being the murder of a mother of six who was a known victim of domestic violence.
Lourdes Agius was allegedly strangled by her partner at her home in Paola. Many have questioned how the woman ended up murdered when the police knew that there was a history of violence in the household.
Domestic violence, which mostly affects women, but also many men, has been discussed at length over the past years, to ensure strong and universal protection for victims of abuse.
But despite all that has been done, the most recent case has shown that there are still shortcomings when it comes to reporting and dealing with domestic abuse.
Contacted by The Malta Independent, Tabone said that in general NGOs are very concerned at the moment. “This is not the first murder this year. Even the fact that we have to add ‘this year’ is concerning.”
The fact that people are reaching out for support and they are not finding it is very concerning, she said, insisting that, “at the end of the day we need to make sure that more action is taken when people actually pluck up the courage to go and report domestic violence.”
“We need more instant and concrete action when it comes to these kinds of cases, and we need to ensure the protection of victims.”
With regards to the present, and the steps that should be taken, Tabone believes that there must be more emergency protection, and more training for the authorities to enable these protections to be accessible more easily and urgently.
“We need more enforcement of protection orders as well, because we are aware of cases where people do have a protection order but the perpetrators are still able to access them.”
An example of the inefficiencies in the current system pointed out by Tabone is the method of reporting when the protection order has been broken.
“The burden of reporting when the protection order is broken is in the hands of the victim. So, if there is, for example, a protection order that limits the accused from contacting by SMS or calling, and the accused contacts the victim – then the burden is on the victim to inform the police.”
She also insisted that the over-use of suspended sentences is a very big concern, stating that she “cannot understand how you can harm another person and get off with nothing.” Tabone said there are too many cases where low penalties are handed out when it comes to domestic violence.
Tabone criticized the current system as “ridiculous, particularly when you have someone who is in a situation where their life is being threatened by an intimate partner, and to add insult to injury, for them to protect themselves they need to leave their home.”
Other steps that could be taken as a means to prevent such violence from taking place, is the implementation of a system whereby on top of the victim being able to stay in their home, there will be enforceable and strong protection measure in place.
She also suggested tagging the perpetrators, potentially with an ankle monitor or some form of technology, so that when they go close to the victim, the authorities are alerted and they are arrested.
Lorraine Spiteri, another long-time advocate on this issue, reasoned that although Malta was the 1st country to ratify the Istanbul Convention, the country has still seen an increase in domestic violence.
The cause, she explained, could be a number of things – mainly lack of funding, culture and lack of education.