The Malta Women's Lobby on Saturday expressed its full support and solidarity with Pearl Vella Haber, who "has bravely shared her deeply personal account of lifelong abuse at the hands of a family member, a story marked by physical violence, emotional trauma, and systemic silencing".

Earlier this week, Haber's brother Justin, a former Malta national goalkeeper and a Labour Party councillor in Floriana, was found guilty of threatening Pearl when he sent his sister a threatening voice message, telling her: "I will behead you". Pearl has since written on the social media about what she described as constant bullying from her brother since they were both young.

In choosing to speak her truth publicly,. Vella Haber has shown immense courage and resilience, the lobby group said.

"Her voice, long suppressed by fear, family denial, and societal expectations, now breaks the silence that so many women continue to live under. Her experience is not an isolated one - it is a mirror of the countless untold stories of women who have endured psychological, emotional, and physical abuse, often at the hands of those closest to them," the group said.

"We commend Ms. Vella Haber not only for her strength in facing her abuser in court, but for choosing to stand tall against public ridicule, online victim-blaming, and the ongoing culture of gaslighting that persists in Maltese society. Her testimony shines a necessary spotlight on generational abuse, covert narcissism, and the complicity of silence - all of which continue to threaten the wellbeing of women and children in our communities.

"We are especially disturbed by the weaponisation of public image and social media to further intimidate and humiliate victims.

"Pearl's voice must not be lost in the noise. It must be amplified - so that silence no longer protects the abuser, and shame no longer burdens the survivor," the group said.