New Commissioner for Domestic Violence appointed

The government has announced the appointment of Audrey Friggieri as the new Commissioner for Domestic violence.

The announcement on Sunday comes a week after the brutal murder 34-year-old Chantelle Chetcuti, a mother of two, by her former partner.

Friggieri, who is replacing Simone Cini who resigned, is a teacher, a graduate in family systemic psychotherapy and also has a Master’s degree in adult education.

She is currently reading for a PhD on early school-leavers, is a lecturer at the University of Malta’s Faculty for Social Wellbeing, and has written several books in Maltese.

Announcing the appointment, Equality Minister Edward Zammit Lewis and equality parliamentary secretary Rosianne Cutajar underlined their commitment towards working harder to prevent all types of violence.

They said the government was determined to create a social transformation to target the “social scourge” of domestic violence.

Farrugia said she would we a firm voice against all violence of all kinds, and would work hard to ensure the Commission for Domestic Violence continues to implement the Istanbul Convention and to bolster training for professionals who work with victims.