It was with a lot of relief that I read of the sentencing of the person accused of raping his 7-year-old niece. Hopefully we can assume that this sort of horrible crime is at last being treated with the seriousness it rightly deserves.

However it is not just children who are abused in Malta. Domestic violence against women seems to be a national hobby with everything from a legal point of view in favour of the abuser. When is someone going to bring this type of abuse into the spotlight? When is someone going to stand up for the women who have no choice but to return to the home where they are abused, as otherwise they will be accused by their abuser of abandoning their family and lose all rights to their home?

What type of man sees it as his God given right to violently abuse the mother of his children? I apologise for the use of the word man, as a real man would never do such a thing. People responsible for such acts are nothing but low life cowards who would run a mile if confronted by a real man. All they can do is abuse a woman who cannot defend herself against his attack.

Of course this problem is not limited to Malta, as unfortunately it is rife all over the world, but it makes me want to ask the ordinary Maltese man, how do you feel about the cowards who blacken your name in this way? How would you react if your lifelong friend, workmate, brother or other family member appeared on charges of spousal abuse? Would you sit with them in the bar and laugh about it or would you be a real man and condemn what they have done? Ask yourself that question because you could be in that position sooner than you think.

The abuse of children in Malta is thankfully still a rarity at least from the point of view of being brought to light. However no matter how rare, it is something which should not be condoned in any way by society. Children look to adults to protect them not to cause them harm. The abuse of women in Malta is not so rare but still for the most part does not come to light due to family pressure. Women look at their family home as a place of safety and that is how it should be.

When a woman’s home becomes a place of fear then something has gone very badly wrong with society. When society, Government and the legal system fail to protect these woman then the community at large has failed completely. I realise that the situation has improved on what it was a few years ago, but women are still on the receiving end of abuse and I implore the Maltese Government and legal system to treat the matter of domestic violence with the seriousness it deserves.

James A. Tyrrell

N. Ireland