Violence, under whatever form, is derogative and unhuman, but when it happens in the sanctity of the home; it is a tragedy. As the severity of domestic violence increases, its impact has become unimaginable. In reality, violence against women is bigger than we think, and it not only places an existential threat to the women concerned, but also to any children in the household. The ripple effects of violence against women are felt across society, and therefore, at the end of the day domestic violence is everybody’s business, which in turn requires an adequate policy across all domains.
The Istanbul Convention defines violence against women “as a violation of human rights, a type of discrimination against women through acts of physical, sexual, psychological or economic suffering or harm to women.”
Domestic violence is unfortunately wide reaching and it does not occur in one space, in one village or in one social class. Rooted in deep misogyny and control, it has affected one in three women, globally. In 2017, 87,000 women were killed, with 50,000 of them being killed by an intimate partner, or family member. In Malta, we too had our share of such heinous crimes, with the most recent femicide happening at the beginning of this year.
Violence against women is a pandemic in its own right. Talking of pandemics, Covid-19 has also presented new challenges and risks to an already difficult and complicated social problem. In view of this, we have unfortunately seen an escalation of domestic violence mainly due to lockdown pressures and job loss. With the loss of power over their everyday lives, the tendency for abusers has been that of establishing more power over other areas. In this regard, domestic violence becomes more dangerous and risk heightens. Lockdowns have also made it harder for women to escape their abusers and file a report to the police, this in turn resulting in less reporting. The reduced number of reporting has not meant, however, that the abuse decreased, rather it meant that the chains under which women were living got tighter as manipulation and abusive behaviour increased. The abuse became more aggressive, not only physically, but also emotionally and verbally.
Against this challenging background, the services which we provide to support victims of domestic violence had to be adjusted to keep staff and users safe. Social workers of the Domestic Violence Service at Appoġġ continued to carry out home visits and kept constant contact with service users, especially over the phone. The unholy connection between Covid-19 and domestic violence was in fact quickly identified, and therefore early action was taken to address the violent behaviour in a new paradigm of health restrictions, reduced access and heightened risk.
The shelters used have in turn adjusted their procedures to keep the residents and their children safe, while still making the facility accessible to those who resorted to it. A well-deserved word of appreciation here goes to the management of these facilities, both of the State services, as well as those run by voluntary organisations.
Consistent with the Istanbul Convention, as a country we continue to emphasize the importance of social and cultural changes to the behaviour of women and men, in order to eliminate ‘prejudices, customs, traditions and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority of women, or on stereotyped roles for women and men.’
The launch of the new Domestic Violence and Gender-Based Violence Unit within the Malta Police Force was, here, a good step forward and reinforces our commitment, as a Government, to tackle the severity of domestic violence in Malta. Since its inception this Unit has handled 5 cases per day, with over 171 reports being filed within its first few weeks. This number is both positive and negative; positive because victims are finding the courage to come forward and report abuse; and negative because domestic violence still continues to rear its ugly head.
Despite the complexity of domestic violence we shall, however, remain strongly committed to educate and campaign against such a curse. We shall leave no stone unturned to legislate when necessary, to fund services as required, and above all, to develop a policy of co-operation and collaboration among all service providers. A complex issue will never be resolved by one organisation, or one method, but by a multi-pronged approach that brings the best of all in a seamless manner. This effort has to be effective enough to prevent the abuse in the first place and when it unfortunately happens, offer the best and timely protection to the victim while pledging to prosecute the perpetrator. We strongly believe in zero tolerance.
Michael Falzon, Minister for the family, children's rights and social solidarity