There have been 886 cases of domestic violence as of August 2018, roughly translating to 27 cases a week or 4 cases per day, figures published in Parliament have indicated. 

The figures, which were provided by Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia when replying to a parliamentary question tabled by PN MP Beppe Fenech Adami, also showed that the locality with the highest amount of cases was St Paul’s Bay, followed closely by Birkirkara (50), Qormi (50), and Marsaskala (48).

Zabbar (38), Bormla (34), and Birzebbugia (33) also recorded a high number of cases, while Fontana, Mdina, and Qala all recorded the lowest with 1 case each. 

According to statistics, there have been 1,257 reports of domestic violence for the whole of 2017, with the majority of victims being women (1,064), with accounting for 333 of all cases. This translates to roughly 24 cases per week or 3 cases per day, indicating an increase in either reported cases or an increase in victims. 

It should be noted that all figures do not include all cases of domestic violence as a number still remain unreported to police officers.

On 22 September a protest against femicide was held in Valletta after a number of attacks directed at women in 2018, the most recent being the murder of a mother of six who was a known victim of domestic violence.

The protest saw people carry placards with the names of women who had killed in their own homes, and was also attended by President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, Deputy Speaker Claudette Buttigieg and representatives of both Partit Demokratiku and Alternattiva Demokratika.