When I meet Susan in a coffee shop a couple of days after the incident, she is still visibly shaken up. Although she smiles, as she talks, her eyes are troubled and her hand keeps stroking her hair – a gesture which is explained later on during our meeting.

“I had no idea that a simple question – ‘why not?’ – would be the beginning of such a horrible experience,” says Susan, “I was trying to park my car but there were some cars blocking my way. I need to emphasise that there was absolutely no provocation from my side. I politely asked the woman and the other people to move their vehicles. She said, ‘Why should we?’ and then all hell broke loose.”

The woman first started being very abusive verbally.

“She called me all manner of disgusting things… I’m not a prude, but even I was shocked,” Susan says and winces as she remembers, “Then she ran toward the car, like a bull. Initially I thought she was going to continue shouting at me, but she lunged into my car though the window and grabbed me from my hair and pulled my face down onto the dashboard. Then she began to hit me on my head, my cheek, my ear. My glasses flew off my head. She was so strong, I couldn’t defend myself at all. ”

In the meantime, the other people jeered at Susan and goaded the woman on: “They were egging her on, clapping and cheering, calling me names. I couldn’t even defend myself, as in my panicked state I just could not undo the seatbelt. I was screaming and crying. Eventually, the woman walked away. I tried to call my partner on my phone but I was so flustered I couldn’t unlock it. I was so confused, I didn’t even manage to put the window up as I was pressing the wrong button. ”

While Susan was trying to get help, the woman came back with another female friend and they both started hitting her again. She finally managed to call her partner and close the window, which is when they started to hit, kick and scratch the car, causing some damage.

“Eventually, they must have given up, as they left and with them, the whole group. I managed to memorise one of the car number plates as they left. I repeated it over and over again in my mind until I committed it to memory,” she says.

Susan later went to the local police station with her boyfriend and lodged a report, which took over two hours. She has nothing but praise for how the police officers handled her initial visit. She then went to a clinic where she was diagnosed with minor injuries. The day after, she went for an ENT check-up at Mater Dei. She was told to rest and that the pain should subside within a week or so. But it is not only the physical pain which still lingers, but the emotional scars which will probably take even longer to heal.

“I can’t stop thinking about it. My family members and most of my friends have been super-supportive. However, some of them think I’m crazy to want to see this case through to the end because they are scared that there will be repercussions for me, for my children. But I want this awful experience to mean something. I want to send a message,” she stresses. “This is not a way to behave. These bullies obviously have a lot of anger and frustration, which they took out on an innocent person. Their children will see them and do the same. I want this vicious circle to be broken.”

*Not her real name

Civil Disorder                

Founded in 2006, Victim Support Malta (VSM) is a registered non-governmental organisation which provides support and assistance to victims of crime such as thefts, burglaries and pick-pocketing, assault, sexual assault, domestic violence, harassment, discrimination and cybercrime. Coryse Borg speaks to the Chairperson of the Executive Committee and Director of the organisation, ROBERTA LEPRE (photo) whose functions include liaising with government, raising awareness about victims' rights and lobbying with the main stakeholders for an improved framework of support for victims on a national level.

“Victim Support Malta offers both generic and specialised Victim Support services,” Dr Lepre explained, “We offer emotional support and legal guidance to victims of various types of crime, either on a face-to-face basis following our intake procedure, or, through online means.  We also provide practical support, such as assistance in finding alternative accommodation, help in applying for social benefits and accompanying victims to court sittings.”

With regard to its specialised service, VSM coordinates a holistic service specifically developed for victims of rape and sexual assault. This essentially entails the coordination of social work, medical and police services on the day of the incident, as well as other follow-up services, such as the provision of a psychotherapist following the incident, full legal representation, as well as translation or interpretation services if required.

The organisation employs a small number of core staff who in turn co-ordinate a group of volunteers. The members of staff all have the relevant qualifications and are also offered training on an on-going basis. Volunteers – who are usually university students in a related field of study nearing the completion of their course – are provided with training on victims' rights and other psycho-social aspects pertaining to victims. Online support volunteers are mentored by more senior and experienced professionals.

 “Our participation in EU projects also offers a learning opportunity for our staff members,” Dr Lepre said, “Last but not least, our membership in Victim Support Europe ensures that we can liaise with our counterparts in other countries to share knowledge and expertise.”

Dr Lepre says that there are various reasons why victims may choose not to report a crime – these range from a lack of trust in the relative services, fear of retribution from the offender, the perceived costs of legal proceedings, fear of being re-victimised by the system and fear of not being believed or being judged.

She emphasises it is important that people know that since April 2015, victims of crime are entitled to a number of rights – these include the right to receive a written acknowledgment of their report, the right to information about rights and services, the right to emotional support, the right to free legal aid, the right to protection, and in certain instances and the right to compensation.

 “The services provided by VSM are totally confidential,” she stresses, “With regard to anonymity, while this is not possible when providing face-to-face services, our online support service is totally anonymous, as one is not required to provide personal details in order to log on to the system.”

Detailed information about victims’ rights is available at http://vso.org.mt/facts-and-info/victims-rights.VSM can be contacted via phone on 21228333 or email on [email protected]. The online support service is available at www.vso.org.mt.