Despite the circumstances taken into consideration this week when the courts delivered an arguably lenient sentence to three 17-year-old boys involved in the gang rape of a 14-year-old girl, the message delivered to the country’s youth by the court was altogether the wrong one.

Two of the young men were placed under probation for three years this week after admitting to raping a 14-year-old girl last year and the third was placed under probation for two years for a lesser degree of involvement.

In a day and age in which children are maturing faster than ever before, in which for example the violence that is accepted on daytime television would have been unthinkable a couple decades ago. Practically any teenager can access the most extreme forms of violence at the click of a mouse, so even more direction needs to be given to our youth.

Times may have changed, along with certain sensitivities toward violence and all that comes with it, but what has not changed is that rape under any circumstances is abjectly wrong, and the court in its leniency delivered the wrong message to the country’s youth.

The message that should have been given by the courts should not have been effectively a slap on the wrist in the form of probation without any effective punishment, not even a community service sentence of some sort, or at the very least a harsh dressing down of those who admitted to the crime by the judiciary.

Yes, in passing judgement the court considered that the three boys were underage at the time of the commission of the crime, their admission of guilt and that both the prosecution and defence had agreed that the rape had been an act of foolishness and an ‘achievement’, an “att ta’ bluha ta' tlett guvintur minorenni li hasbu le qed jaghmlu xi bravata”, as the media reported it this week. 

How many acts of rape and even murder around the world are considered as ‘acts of foolishness’ or ‘achievements’?  This is certainly not the message that anyone in their right mind would want to convey to Malta’s youths.

The women’s groups that have expressed outrage were quite right in doing so, and it is heartening that they have made their voices heard on this concerning issue.

But with the court’s much-criticised statement, it reduced the seriousness of the case to a case of boyish high jinks. In the process that message it could very well have insinuated that what happened is permissible, which it certainly is not, and in the process discouraged other girls suffering the same fate from coming forward and reporting it.

It is precisely these kinds of messages and attitudes that will ensure that violence against women and girls continues growing as it has been in recent years.

The next Opposition leader

At the time of writing yesterday, a verdict on yesterday’s polling at Dar Centrali was not yet delivered and it was not known whether there is to be a run-off vote next week or if one of the four contestants will be taking the helm of what is a severely ailing party come this morning.

But whatever the case, whenever and whoever is elected as the next Nationalist Party leader will have something of a Herculean feat in turning the party’s electoral, and even financial fortunes, around.

But what is even more important is that the next Nationalist Party leader will be the country’s next Opposition leader, a role that is fundamentally crucial to the country.

That role should not be about criticising and denigrating the party in government to the best of its abilities, as has been the past practice. It is, rather, about pushing the government of the day to do the best by the country as possible.

The country will need a strong Opposition just as much as it needs a strong government. It is a symbiotic relationship and the beneficiary at the end of the day is the country and its citizens.

Over the last two weeks, this newspaper has interviewed all four leadership contestants and all four, truth be told, have their own particular qualities that they bring to the table.

But first and foremost among those qualities will have to be the capacity to be the strongest Opposition leader possible. In addition to a strong government, that is what the country needs now more than ever,

We wish the eventual winner the best of luck in his immediate challenges and in the tasks that lie in store.