Last week I attended a march in Valletta that was held to highlight the plight of victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence. The event was held to mark the setting up of the group SOAR, a new support group that has been established by victims and survivors of domestic violence with the support of St Jeanne Antide Foundation. The group intends to provide actual support to victims of domestic abuse. In most cases these victims are traumatised and it is no mean feat to instil confidence and build up their self-esteem, which is imperative for rebuilding their shattered lives.

Domestic violence was and will probably remain too complex an issue to be ever fully understood. It is not a characteristic of any culture and affects people across society, irrespective of economic status and gender. Evidently, combating this crime in a ‘one size fits all’ policy would not be logical. This would simply paint a stereotypical picture that barely scratches the terrible reality of intimate violence. The perpetrators of this violence know no boundaries as this abuse afflicts children, adults and even the elderly. Domestic violence shatters the rights of living in safety and security even within one’s home. It destroys the nature of relationships, degrades the dignity and respect of the individual and leads to a dysfunctional family life.

For a very long time, domestic abuse had been taken with a dose of cynicism. Courts and the police regarded domestic abuse more as a misdemeanour rather than an actual crime. Sadly, it is only when this behaviour leads to tragedy that many fully comprehend the implications of domestic violence. In the last 30 odd years this mentality has slowly and thankfully changed. Not only is there increased awareness but a legislative framework has gradually been built and a whole network of services have been constructed around this set of rules. These services not only provide relative protection but also seek to root the cause of this abuse, addressing legal and criminal issues and, most important, empowering the victims of these crimes.

Last week, a number of developments were registered in this field. First, the government has announced the setting up of a sexual abuse response team that will be attended by professionals at Mater Dei Hospital. This unit will go a long way to address the immediate needs of victims often caught up in the delicate nature of these ghastly acts. So far services have been somewhat scattered and are not exclusively catered for.

A second welcome development is that Malta has signed up to a specific international convention that addresses domestic violence. The convention aims to create a legally binding framework that categorises the nature of these crimes and promotes the prevention and protection of victims of sexual and domestic violence. This means that Malta will, for the first time, introduce laws that criminalize particular acts that so far are unregulated. Among these are gender mutilation, forced marriages and forced sterilisation. Furthermore, the convention provides for the setting up of a helpline that will be available at all times to intended or actual victims of domestic abuse. It also ensures that police are empowered to carry out intensive investigations, treat the victim with the proper respect and empower the police to forcibly remove the aggressor from the victim’s home. Adequate protection of the victim is sometimes lacking and the convention aims to encourage governments to provide protection, especially throughout the process of the cases involved.

There still remains a distinct lacuna when it comes to interpreting statistics on the subject of domestic violence. The reasons could be manifold. Among the reasons there remains chiefly a sense of omertà that compels victims not to report cases for obvious personal reasons. Furthermore, once this data is collected in a more precise manner it could reveal the extent of the problem. 

Much has been done in this field thanks especially to some dedicated politicians and so many experts, workers and volunteers. With a strong dose of goodwill and a collective effort this information will eventually be interpreted. This should help not only in raising more awareness but will also help target specific vulnerable groups. It will help the various services to network more effectively to reduce discrepancies and overlapping. Above all, it should help in mitigating as much as possible this despicable abuse.

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The author is a Nationalist Party candidate on the 4th and 6th districts