In 2024, 3,798 persons reported experiencing domestic violence or made use of services available within this area. Of these, 76.0 per cent were females, the NSO said Monday

The majority of persons (57.5 per cent) used any service only once during the reference year, with 21.4 per cent using one or more services twice, and 21.1 per cent using one or more services three times or more. 44.9 per cent of females used any service more than once, compared with 35.0 per cent of males.

During 2024, a total of 6,768 cases were registered by the different entities providing a form of service to persons experiencing domestic violence. In 2024, as in previous years, the main services used by persons experiencing domestic violence were the Domestic Violence Unit (DVU) within Aġenzija Appoġġ (2,987 registered cases) and the Malta Police Force, which received 2,379 reports during the year under review (Table 2).

The Southern Harbour district recorded the highest utilisation of services offered by the Domestic Violence Unit, with 12 female service users per 1,000 female residents and 2.6 male service users per 1,000 male residents. It also registered the highest rate of domestic violence reports, with 10.2 reports from females per 1,000 female residents and 3.3 reports from males per 1,000 male residents. In contrast, the Gozo and Comino district reported the lowest rates of both service users and domestic violence reports per 1,000 residents.

In 2024, 29.3 per cent of the total cases registered across all services involved persons aged between 30 and 39 years old, while 24.7 per cent involved persons aged 50 years old and over.

The majority, 83.4 per cent, were cases involving Maltese nationals. The services with the highest number of foreign service users were domestic violence shelters at 36.7 per cent, and the emergency health services at 30.3 per cent.