'Government committed to curbing violence against women' - Helena Dalli

Violence against women is a violation of human rights that cannot be justified by any political, religious, or cultural claim. According to Amnesty International, at least one woman in every three around the world has been beaten or otherwise abused in her lifetime.

Addressing the launch of a project by the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) to combat gender-based violence, Social Dialogue Minister Helena Dalli said Malta was no exception to domestic violence.

A survey carried by the EU agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) found that 20% of respondents in Malta experienced sexual harassment in the previous 12 months while 8% of the Maltese respondents went through cyberharassment since the age of 15. 

"Government is committed to further prevent or curb violence against women and it intends to ratify the Istanbul Convention," Dalli said.

The first reading for the ratification of this convention was made in the Maltese Parliament last March.

The NCPE today launched a series of initiatives that form part of a two-year project entitled ‘Forms of Violence in Malta – a gender perspective’. 

The minister said that through this project, the government wants to relay a message of zero tolerance to violence against women and girls.

The €375,000 project aims to further raise awareness on violence against women and girls, whilst addressing distinct forms of violence and the circumstances and needs of victims as well as those of the professionals who work closely with these victims. 

80% of the project is funded by the European Union.

Research studies will delve deeper into sensitive areas such as female genital mutilation in Malta and the needs of women who experienced it. 

It will also shed light on the state of violence, harassment and bullying in schools, and is aimed at preventing violence from a young age. 

Other areas to be researched include violence and abuse of older men and women, and the needs of healthcare providers who work with women who suffer different forms of violence. Awareness raising campaigns alongside training of multidisciplinary professionals and legal experts are also being planned.

The minister said the government has taken a number of initiatives to combat violence, most notably the setting up a sexual assault response team at Mater Dei Hospital.

Amendments to the Criminal Code that came into force in 2014 prohibit female genital mutilation in Malta while amendments carried out in 2013 further enhance the safeguards against human trafficking. Penalties against sexual offenses on minors have also increased.

Nationalist MP Claudette Buttigieg, also a member of the parliamentary select committee on social affairs, urged the NCPE to increase training for police officers.

"We have personally spoken to victims of domestic violence and their experiences are harrowing. You hear a victim recounting how while filing a police report, the officer opens the window because he's 'feeling hot' only to realise that her husband was outside listening to every word," Buttigieg said.

She added that victims of domestic violence where repeatedly encouraged to forgive perpetrators when court action is sought.

Echoing Buttigieg's comments, NCPE commissioner Renee Laiviera pointed out that the culture of forgiveness "does not" reflect the damage violence causes to society.

"Its repercussions flow from one generation to another," she said.

The project will also delve deeper into violence and abuse of elderly people, to study the factors and consequences of the violence suffered by the elderly.

The Commissioner for older persons John Cachia said society could not go on ignoring the elderly. He argued that when an elderly women turns up at the casualty, alone and injured, "no one bats an eye".