2,919 individuals have used domestic violence services at least once in 2020, the National Statistics Office reported Monday.
When compared to 2019, there was an almost 14% increase in the number of persons using support services on domestic violence, going up from 2,565 to 2,919.
79% of these individuals were females, while a total of 610 males made use of at least one service provider in 2020.
The main services being used by persons experiencing domestic violence were the Domestic Violence Unit (DVU) within Aġenzija Appoġġ which registered 2,321 cases, and the Police Department, which amounted to 1,820 individual reports.
Other service providers included emergency health services, shelters such as Dar Merħba Bik, Għabex and il-Milja, and Victim Support Malta.
In 2020, more than half of registered cases across all services involved persons aged over 40. 919 of the individual cases were under the age of 30.
The majority, being 86.9%, were cases involving Maltese nationals. 11.8% were of foreign nationalities.
NSO statistics also recorded on the type of violence reported, of which the majority of cases were psychological violence, recording over 90% of the cases registered by shelters and the DVU.
Of the cases registered by the Police Department, slightly over 60% were persons experiencing psychological violence, while 38% were persons reporting physical violence. Sexual and economic violence were reported mostly to the DVU, with 585 individual cases recorded.
NSO statistics also noted on services targeting perpetrators of domestic violence.
Data for 2020 includes the ‘Stop!’ programme by Aġenzija Appoġġ and services provided by the Department of Probation and Parole. The DPP is a service within the criminal justice system and works in collaboration with the judiciary, police, various agencies and government departments, amongst others.
The ‘Stop!’ programme registered 107 cases dealing with perpetrators of domestic violence while the Department of Probation and Parole registered 57 cases.
Cases reported by perpetrator service providers may include persons counted more than once. For both service providers the absolute majority of cases involved male perpetrators. Only eight cases involved female perpetrators. Ages of the perpetrators were between 30 and 49.
The total number of perpetrators using domestic violence services, which are deemed unique cases, was 153, with 145 being male and eight being female in 2020.