[WATCH] Samantha Pace Gasan: ‘We have a misogynist and patriarchal culture’

Commissioner for Gender-based Violence and Domestic Violence Samantha Pace Gasan

The commissioner for domestic violence has renewed her appeal for electronic tagging to be introduced “immediately”, calling it an important tool in dealing with domestic violence cases.

In an interview with MaltaToday, Samantha Pace Gasan says more resources are needed to tackle domestic violence and gender-based violence.

She sits down with me at the start of the commission’s 16 Days of Activism Against Domestic Violence and Gender-based Violence campaign. 

Pace Gasan praises the increased resources for the police’s Domestic Violence Unit but notes that resources within the judiciary still have room for improvement. She insists the is not only tied to a court backlog of domestic violence cases but also a question of members of the judiciary who need to be specialised and sensitive to the particular characteristics of such cases.

Discussing worrying statistics about public perceptions on issues related to domestic violence published by Eurostat, Pace Gasan says that just like many other countries, Malta still struggles with a patriarchal culture that is harmful to both women and men.

The commissioner reflects on global personalities such as Andrew Tate, who spread “harmful and extremist” views that perpetuate violence against women. Pace Gasan says that a counterbalance to such influences must come from the understanding why these views are popular. But she insists that social media platforms also have a responsibility to be cautious on the content they allow on their platforms.

The following is an excerpt of the interview.

The full interview can also be viewed on Facebook and Spotify.

A recent Eurostat survey on public perceptions on gender-based violence shows, among other findings that, a third of Maltese people believe that women often make up or exaggerate claims of abuse or rape. Let’s start on a general note. Does Malta have a misogynistic culture?

[...] Yes, we have a misogynist and patriarchal culture. In the majority of (domestic violence) cases, the victim is a woman and the aggressor is a man. We’re not saying that all men are aggressors, but we must recognise that the manner in which we are brought up, in our families, our schools, our different activities in many different countries, gives more power to men and boys.

For example, boys are more athletic than girls from a young age. This increases the possibility of boys and men who take care of themselves more, while girls are taught to take care of others. This is done through the games we play. Some people are doing sports and taking care of themselves, and others are playing with dolls, taking care of others.

These are the messages that we give to our children from an early age. We cannot say that what used to happen 30 years ago is still happening today in our society, but there is still a lot more that needs to be done.

According to the same statistics, a quarter of Maltese people believe that if a woman shares her opinion on social media, she should expect sexist and degrading comments. You’re a woman who speaks out about a number of issues. Do you see this behaviour personally?

There were times where I received such comments. I won’t go into details because I don’t want to deviate from today’s subject but I was on the receiving end of what we call gendered hate speech. In reality, if you let them get to you, they can affect you personally.

You’d be doing your job or expressing your opinion because every woman, every person should be able to share their opinion on social media. I don’t expect that just because I share my opinion that someone has a right to attack me personally. If someone seeing this interview disagrees and criticises my opinion, they can comment in a constructive way…

This is a reality which we see among women in the public eye. There is criticism and sometimes that’s what people want, but they cannot get the message across without resorting to insults, especially when it comes to women.

The resources and awareness on domestic violence have undoubtedly improved along the years. The number of reports is always increasing, which could be interpreted as a result of those improvements. But the number of reports is still large. Do you think the number of local cases is alarming?

Earlier this year a population-based survey was published by the NSO which showed that a quarter of women between 18 and 74 years old experienced at least one episode of violence. As a reference, one out of five men have experienced this form of violence at least once in their lives.

I wouldn’t say it’s alarming when you compare it to other countries. The rate is similar to those in other countries, but every episode of violence should be avoided [...]

What’s interesting is that we always say that domestic and gender-based violence is under-reported. However, a recent EU report also shows that in Malta, around 48% of the cases are reported, which is the highest rate among EU states. We want all cases reported, but the direction we’re heading towards is good and it’s encouraging victims to take action.

Before we started the interview you clarified that there are three magistrates which are handling domestic violence cases. Do you think this is enough with regards to resources in the judiciary?

There is a backlog in our courts. The waiting time for such cases has been reduced due to an additional magistrate who focuses on these cases. It’s important that they are specialised because the complexities of domestic violence are massive.

We’ve spoken about cyber violence, the psychological aspect, and so the impact isn’t just a punch for example. That punch leaves a psychological impact, before that punch was thrown there would be an element of manipulation and control that would lead the aggressor to believe that they have the right to throw that punch.

Reports show that 70% of police reports this year involved psychological harm, which shows that people aren’t waiting for physical violence before reporting.

As a commissioner in this sector, I will never say we have enough resources. I believe we’re at a point where we can take a look at the statistics to see what the big picture is, and examine what resources we need [...]

We’ve been hearing about resources such as electronic tagging and panic buttons for quite some time now but as of yet they're still measures left on paper. First of all, do you think these can make a big difference in prevention and justice after all?

With regards to panic alarms, it’s important that these are given to high-risk victims to prevent murders and femicides. Realistically, everyone can be at risk, and that’s why we encourage preventing it by not letting different forms of abuse escalate.

It’s important not to promote the panic button to prevent aggressors from being aware and manipulating the tool.

I’ve spoken about electronic tagging before I was commissioner and I definitely believe that this should be implemented immediately because it facilitates monitoring and enhances security when it comes to protection orders.

Currently, if aggressors break their protection orders, their victims are responsible for reporting them right now. A protection order is only a piece of paper. Obviously, there are consequences after the order is broken, but they only come when it’s too late [...]

Video is unavailable at this time.