Samantha Pace Gasan has been appointed as the Commissioner for gender-based violence and domestic violence. Pace Gasan is a human rights activist and had been appointed as the second Commissioner for the Rights of Persons with Disability back in early 2021.

In this previous role of hers, Pace Gasan worked to raise awareness regarding all different forms of discrimination that are common against all persons with a disability with the scope of better observing their fundamental rights, the Department of Information said.

Pace Gasan began her journey into the world of activism at a young age. This period saw her join several NGOs as a youth, including the National Youth Council of Malta (KNŻ), the student organisation “Studenti Ħarsien Soċjali” for University of Malta students within the sectors of social work and social policy, and the Network of Young Women Leaders. She was also a member of the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality and a researcher within the Faculty of Social Wellbeing at the University of Malta.

Through her skills and experience, Samantha Pace Gasan shall lead the Commission on Gender-based Violence and Domestic Violence to continue striving to minimize these issues within our society.

Significant reforms have been done within this field in recent years, including the official acknowledgement of femicide in Maltese Criminal Code and the recent introduction of legislation that, in scenarios featuring reasonable suspicion, allows people to check if their partner has ever been convicted on charges of domestic violence in the past.

Despite these progressive steps, the government believes that lots of work must still be done by this Commission, and that through the leadership of Pace Gasan, the training of relevant professionals may be improved upon to better the assistance of victims of gender-based violence and domestic violence, the government said. Moreover, the Commission on gender-based violence and domestic violence must also continue its implementation of the Istanbul Convention to ensure that all women shall be protected from all forms of violence.

The Minister for Home Affairs, Law Enforcement and National Security, Byron Camilleri, and the Parliamentary Secretariat for Reforms and Equality, Rebecca Buttigieg, announced Pace Gasan’s appointment as the domestic violence commissioner and wished her well while thanking Audrey Friggieri for her service in this role. Friggieri decided to step down from her position as Commissioner due to personal reasons. Friggieri was first appointed into this role after her predecessor, Simone Cini, also resigned from her post due to personal reasons back in February 2020.