Thirteen organisations have highlighted the urgent need for swift and effective judicial remedies for women who have suffered rape and sexual assault.

In a statement, the organisations said that these remedies must recognise that rape does not solely occur through physical violence and coercion, and that the lack thereof does not in itself indicate that sex was consensual.

"This joint statement comes after the attorney general based its decision not to prosecute following a recent magisterial ruling which determined that consent for sex was given in a case where a woman shared her experience of being violated in her home by her Mount Carmel carer, who she believed at the time that she could trust. The ruling was delivered after an excruciating two-year wait for the victim, who claimed to have received little to no information in the interim. She was not given the opportunity to testify in court, nor was the accused taken for questioning, in violation of the Istanbul Convention and the EU Victim's Rights Directive setting minimum standards on the rights, support, and protection for victims of crime, ensuring that they are treated with dignity and respect following their traumatic experience. "

"There is a power imbalance that is inherent to a patient and carer relationship, particularly when the patient is in a fragile and vulnerable state of mental health, this in itself casting serious doubt on the possibility for the victim to give meaningful consent to a sexual relationship. Furthermore, it should be noted that a common trauma response is to freeze, and to be unable to immediately respond to threat, particularly if neither fight nor flight are seen as safe options to escape the experienced threat or danger. The absence of physical evidence of violence or coercion can thus never be taken as an indication that there was consent for sex," the groups said.

The organisations called for the full implementation of the EU Victim's Rights Directive, "to ensure that all victims of rape and sexual assault are granted their full rights as victims who have experienced crime, receiving adequate protection and support. We further call for mandatory training to all professionals, including police, prosecutors and judiciary, on the elements of consent and impact that this gruesome crime has on survivors."

"Women who have experienced rape or sexual assault must be able to have full faith in our institutions to deliver justice in a timely and effective manner, and time and time again, we risk falling short and failing victims, subjecting them to needless re-traumatisation at having justice denied. Their voices must be heard and their rapists must be held accountable."

The statement was signed by: Victim Support Malta, Women's Rights Foundation, Women for Women Foundation, Dar Hosea, Fondazzjoni Sebh, The Lisa Maria Foundation, The Maltese Association of Social Workers, Dar Merhba Bik Foundation, SOAR Malta, Malta Women's Lobby, Men Against Violence, Moviment Graffiti, and the FIDEM Foundation.