In 2018, Agenzija Appogg saw 665 cases of domestic violence, an increase of 158 cases from 2017; the Foundation for Social Welfare Services (FSWS) said in its 2018 Annual Report. The report, which was published on Friday, highlights on the services provided by FSWS and Agenzija Appogg in 2018.
According to the report, the increase in domestic violence referrals may be a result of the launch of the Gender Based Violence and Domestic Violence Law, and the awareness that was raised on the media, which means that more victims of domestic violence were reached with the information about FSWS and Agenzija Appogg support services and were empowered to seek services.
In 2018, 55 female victims of Domestic Violence found shelter at Ghabex Shelter, who stayed a total of 3,428 nights, an average of 62 nights each. The report states that the increase from 2017 is by almost 100%, which reflects the higher amount of referrals in the Domestic Violence Unit, as well as more awareness amongst female victims about emergency shelters.
The report also highlights that in 2018, there were 37 active sexual assault cases, 17 accessing legal services and 20 accessing psychological services. Five are still receiving social work services.
The report also had a section on Therapeutic and Community Services; focusing on Home Based Therapeutic Services (HBTS), which offered outreach service to multi-stressed families in their own communities. HBTS is a person-centred intervention who works closely with parents and careers. In 2018, there were 180 family cases using therapeutic and community services and 497 individuals. 132 families were referred. In 2018, 30 professionals were offering their services for HBTS.
Anti-Poverty and Social Exclusion project reached 26,000 families
The Leap! Project which started in 2017 was set up to combat social exclusion and poverty through social integration and social mobility, especially for vulnerable families. In 2018, Leap provided 5 food distributions, 56,000 food packages which reached 26,000 families.
4,052 reported cases in Northern Harbour District for FSWS
The report stated that 4,052 cases were reported in the Northern Harbour District for FSWS in 2018. St.Paul’s Bay was the town which had the highest number of cases worked with at FSWS between January and December 2018. The report indicates the approximate number of cases worked by the town of residence reported by service users. It is to be noted that since an individual can attend more than one unit at the same time, summing up the number of cases worked with will over-estimate the actual number of persons worked with; therefore the following data and figure provided are higher than the actual numbers.
According to the report St Paul’s Bay had between 801-960 cases. The Southern Harbour District was the second district with the highest number of cases worked by FSWS in 2018; with 3,506 reported cases, with Zabbar having the highest number of reported cases in the Southern Harbour District, between 481-640 reports.
In regards to Appogg service, the Northern Harbour District also ranked high with 2,986 cases worked in 2018. According to the report, St Paul’s Bay had between 621-744 cases worked by Appogg in 2018.