A 2013 domestic violence court case instituted by a woman who was murdered two weeks ago had fallen through after she chose not to testify against her partner, The Malta Independent on Sunday has learnt.

It is up to the magistrate if the case should proceed or not, should the victim decide not to testify, and if there are other witnesses to the case. In this circumstance, however, Chantelle Chetcuti chose not to testify and the case was subsequently closed, in June 2013.

Chetcuti died of injuries she sustained after she was stabbed in the head, allegedly by her ex-partner, who stands accused of her homicide. In a statement, the police had said that the 34-year-old woman had filed a domestic violence report against her partner on February 2013.

The report concerned Justin Borg, who was charged with the killing.

Inspector Sylvana Gafa (below), from the Victim Support Unit, said the police could not have sent for the victim, after the case was closed, to ask if she was still being abused. “It is not the role of the police to do this,” she explained.

Gafa also noted that Chetcuti did not seek help from Appogg. If a victim declines to be referred to Appogg, the police cannot refer her because of data protection laws.

A domestic violence case stopped at court happens often, Gafa said, especially if the victim tells the magistrate she wants to drop the case.

“This happens often. A lot of victims are doing this because till one goes to court it takes long, the court judgments may not be what they are expecting, and also charges may be levied against both the victim and aggressor,” Gafa explained.

While believing that the police do need more training, and need to be more sensitive when dealing with such cases, Gafa said that discussions are underway to establish a unit that would deal and investigate domestic violence cases only.

Gafa also said that the police receive a lot of criticism because some police officers may not be sensitive enough when dealing with such cases, explaining that “we cannot expect everyone to be good at everything. Maybe a police officer is good at investigating, but not so good with dealing with victims.”

Whilst saying this is not excusable, this is why a specialised unit would be better at dealing with such cases, she added.

No domestic violence report ever made on the first instance

The inspector also explained that the most common causes of domestic violence deal with couples who have been married for many years. They would have been abused for years, Gafa noted, adding that she does not recall of any case when a report was made on the first instance of abuse.

Making a police report is generally the last resort in cases of domestic violence, Gafa explained, adding that the victims usually try to sort out the issues themselves first, then speak to friends about it, followed by going to Appogg.

Most victims tell the police that they only want them to speak to the aggressor, and not to take him to court. Gafa, however, explained that by law, the police are obliged to take the aggressor to court.

The burden still lies with the victim to proceed

“Once you make a report, you cannot come tomorrow and tell us I want to drop the report,” Gafa explained. It is the police that takes the aggressor to court now, and the aggressor is informed of this. If the police do not take the aggressor to court they would not be doing their duty.

Previously, the law allowed for the victim to take the aggressor to court, but it was changed since most victims are usually scared, threatened, or even made to feel responsible for taking the aggressor to court.

“We did not want that burden to remain with the victim, but to lie with the police,” Gafa continued, but in a way, not much has changed, she adds. Instead of it being at the stage of reporting, the burden is present when the case is taken up to court.