Offices for the Commission on Gender-Based Violence and Domestic Violence at the Zentrum Business Centre in Qormi were inaugurated today by Minister for Equality, Research and Innovation, Owen Bonnici.

These offices which are set to enable local research and training opportunities on gender-based and domestic violence in Malta are a result of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Commission on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Domestic Violence (DV) and the Faculty of Social Well-being.

Thus, researchers from the University of Malta will now be working alongside the Commission of GBD and DV in Malta with a particular focus on a research into children witnessing gender-based violence and domestic violence in Malta.

“The agreement being signed today is a very important one, because it will enhance our knowledge and awareness of the effects of domestic violence on those who experience it and witness it in their daily lives. The more research-based knowledge we have, the better equipped we will be to fight this plague and help those who fall victims”, stated Minister Owen Bonnici.

The agreement was signed today by the University Pro-rector Saviour Zammit and the Commissioner for Gender-based and Domestic Violence, Audrey Friggieri.

Friggieri spoke to The Malta Independent of the importance of having local research rather than relying on research from oversees as having local research that reflect the reality on the ground is the best way to enable effective tailor made policies.

“Research lies at the heart of what we do and so we cannot be effective if we do not have recent information of the realities on the ground as to what people are experiencing across Malta and Gozo,” Friggieri told this newsroom.

“It is a privilege to have these academics on board,” she added.

“We are all inspired by the same spirit, the wellbeing of society,” she concluded.