Parents share their feelings, nowadays also on Facebook. If minors are not allowed to have a Facebook account, why are their names, faces and references to their dark side of their family feuds manipulated by adults on Facebook? 

One Voice Malta administers and coordinates a network offering legal assistance to the victims of domestic violence and their children. As we see it, the victims are both parents and support to both, individually, is necessary if the primary consideration of the Maltese legal system is on the children's wellbeing and their best interests. 

The system should not allow either parent to abuse of a child's tender age to score higher and seek the attention of the authorities when evidence compiled by the executive police does not translate into a requirement for the children to be taken away from the father or the mother, as the case may be. 

Parents should not be allowed to turn their children into protagonists, if such action is not necessary for their own safety. 

The impartial representation of minors is a right which should be exercised anytime by minors. The legal system should be effective when the protection to children dragged into cases of domestic violence is necessary, especially when the alleged violence is not proven to have been directed on to the minor and the separation from either parent equates to nothing but unnecessary pain and unrepairable damage. 

To say that we have seen a spike in domestic violence during the coronavirus pandemic would be an understatement. In the weeks since we have been instructed to “stay home” to prevent the virus’s spread, cases of domestic violence have surged! Indeed, this should come as no surprise: Victims – whether Men or Women — are confined to isolated homes with their abusive partners, whose coercive and physically violent tendencies are enabled and further inflamed by economic stressors. Home is not always a safe place to live; in fact, for adults and children living in situations of domestic violence, home is often the space where physical, psychological and sexual abuse occurs.

This is because home can be a place where the dynamics of power can be distorted and subverted by those who abuse, often without scrutiny from anyone “outside” the couple, or the family unit. In the COVID‐19 crisis, the exhortation to “stay at home” therefore has major implications for those already living with someone who is abusive or controlling. Restrictions on movement shut off avenues of escape, help‐seeking and ways of coping for victim–survivors. Restrictive measures are also likely to play into the hands of people who abuse through tactics of control, surveillance and coercion. This is partly because what goes in within people's homes—and, critically, within their family and intimate relationships—take place “behind closed doors” and out of the view, in a literal sense, of other people. Unintentionally, lockdown measures may therefore grant people who abuse greater freedom to act without scrutiny or consequence.

It is our obligation to take all the necessary action to alert victims of abuse that there is help available!  It is in this context that the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women has called on States to take urgent measures to combat domestic violence in the context of COVID-19 lockdowns!

Victims are not alone!  We will have to double our efforts to raise awareness of the criminal nature of domestic violence and the services available to victims. In these unprecedented times, the state is in fact establishing measures so that victims of domestic violence are still able to access redress for violations of their rights. Perhaps, though not the solution for eliminating domestic violence, the implemented domestic violence initiative pushed forward by Labour MEP Miriam Dalli, Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis and Equality Parliamentary Secretary Rosianne Cutajar will be able to improve the response of the legal system and related services to domestic violence!

However, to achieve a service that is efficient, effective, affordable, and satisfying to all parties, a methodological and organisational approach has to be adopted to set acceptable quality levels that will permit legal aid providers to align their work with recommended standards. Practical guidance that is clear and detailed on how to approach the case and their clients at each step of the criminal justice process must be ensured.

Measures and services should also include physical and mental healthcare services, housing services including shelters, and police and justice services. All cases must continue to be effectively investigated and perpetrators brought to account despite the pressure placed on the police capacity during the lockdown.

This shows that indeed Violence is not inevitable. But it can happen to anyone. It has no boundaries. Thus, now more than ever, we must consciously create a culture of support for ourselves, our friends, family, and colleagues. The safer the environment, the more likely domestic violence survivors are to disclose their situations or seek support and assistance. When someone confides in us about an abusive situation, we listen and we believe them. No one deserves to be abused, no matter what the circumstances. And we can all do much to address and prevent it! 

On the other side of the coin there is always another credible story, a parent in need for assistance and willing to make things right. If only our legal system allows for this! 

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Article by One Voice Malta, a platform with the aim to connect National and International organisations working in concert on the implementation of common policies.