The year 2018 saw 1,341 cases of domestic violence (of both physical and psychological nature) reported to the authorities, information tabled in Parliament reveals..
Nationalist MP Claudette Buttigieg tabled a question in Parliament asking the Minister for Home Affairs and National Security Michael Farrugia how many cases of domestic violence had been reported to the police between the years 2010 and 2018, and how many of these cases involved victims who were women, men, children, and the elderly. Buttigieg also asked the cases to be broken down by age.
It is important to note that reported cases of domestic violence are not verified cases where an individual(s) has been found guilty, or charges have been made.
From 2010 to the end of 2018, there have been a reported 9,682 cases of domestic violence, with 10,585 potential victims. Every year has seen erratic increases and decreases, but ultimately the overall number of reports has increasef - potentially due to a number of factors such as the dramatic population increase in so many years, and increased reporting and awareness with regards to domestic violence specifically.
Although men made up approximately 23% (2,425 cases) of the total reported cases, women were reported to be substantially more likely to be victims with 8,160 total cases being reported with them as victims.
The most common form of domestic violence started out as being "slight bodily harm with physical force" in 2010, but as the years have progressed, "psychological harm" has overtaken it as the prime form of abuse by a notable amount.
Third and fourth most common forms of domestic violence alternated between "grievous bodily harm with physical force" and "stalking".
In a separate question asked by Buttigieg, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici has also published statistics regarding domestic violence court cases in Parliament.
The following statistics regard cases which ended up being taken to court, and may not add up with the amount of domestic violence reports mentioned previously as the aforementioned could include multiple reports by the same person, and other factors.
The minister highlighted that between 2015 and December 2018, there were 2,256 district court cases in relation to domestic violence in the courts of Malta. Of these, 1,690 are listed under: 'Merits of the case have been exhausted, so the case is discontinued'. 218 were liberated, 127 were found guilty and fined, 104 were time-barred, 10 were jailed, and others cases were either conditionally discharged, the case was withdrawn or are listed as having had a number of other outcomes.