The Malta Women's Lobby (MWL) is "deeply disturbed and saddened" by the latest incident of violence "where a man brutally attacked two sisters, aged 12 and 15, in a horrific act that has shocked our nation."

On Saturday, the police announced that two teenage sisters were stabbed in Marsa. One of them is in critical condition, the police said. The attack took place in their residence in San Tumas Street. The man entered the residence and stabbed the two youngsters, aged 12 and 15, the police said. The aggressor, aged 43, was arrested by the police some time later in his hometown, Cospicua.

What is particularly alarming, MWL said, "is the fact that this perpetrator had previously been brought before the court for threatening his partner and her daughter. However, due to the victims' understandable fear and reluctance to testify against him, the accused was freed from all accusations."

The 12-year-old was taken to hospital with serious injuries. The 15-year-old girl suffered grievous injuries.

The MWL said that this is another reminder of the problem that girls and women in our society are not even safe in their own home. The MWL also said that there is an urgent need for a robust legal framework that allows the accused to be tried even when their victims are too afraid to testify. As things stand, the victim's testimony is necessary for proceedings. They added that a support system should be set up to protect victims of domestic violence and advocated for magistrates to adopt a victim-centred approach to such cases. 

The MWL said that they are frustrated with a broken system that doesn't prioritize the safety of women or take any measures to prevent gender-based violence. The MWL said that blame is being put on the victims as things stand. It added how apparent it is that women's issues are not deemed important in this system.