State has not done enough, PM says on Bernice Cassar murder

Prime Minister Robert Abela questioned whether society's patriarchal attitude and its treatment of women enabled the femicide of Bernice Cassar.

During an interview on One Radio on Sunday morning, Abela said that the murder of Bernice Cassar by her husband meant that a lot more had to be done by the state to address the issues of domestic violence and femicide.

“One thing is certain; the state has not done enough. Three women were murdered this year, so although big reforms have been conducted, a lot more is to be done,” Abela said.

29-year-old polish student Paulina Dembska was murdered on 2 January, after she was strangled and raped by 20-year-old Abner Aquilina in Sliema. 49-year-old Rita Ellul was murdered by her 30-year-old partner Lawerence Abna in Għajnsielem on 26 February.

According to Abela, the institutions have prevented a lot of similar crimes from occurring, commending the police for their work, especially the Domestic Violence Unit.

Last June Parliament unanimously approved a bill to add femicide to the Criminal Code.

The PM however questioned whether society had done enough to prevent such crimes from occurring, including its attitude towards women.

He highlighted how sports journalist Joanna Camilleri was at the receiving end of a barrage of sexist and demeaning remarks online, after a slip-up during a World Cup discussion program.

“Everything is connected – it’s a question of attitude. How does society treat women? We can’t accept a patriarchal attitude in our society,” Abela said.

The PM touched upon the legal amendment that the government has put forward, that would allow doctors to terminate a pregnancy to safeguard the woman’s health and life, insisting that the government was not legalising abortion.

He however criticised the Opposition for declaring that they would not support the amendment.

“The Opposition and all those that do not agree with the amendment have a right to do so and express their opinion, but they have no right to skew facts and stir confusion.”

Abela said that it was the case of Andrea Prudente, an American woman who was not allowed to terminate her pregnancy after being hospitalised at Mater Dei after experiencing a premature breaking of her waters at 16 weeks’ pregnant, that had sparked a debate in Malta.

He said that although the procedure at Mater Dei was that any prospective mother had a right to live when her health and life were in clear peril, this was not reflected in the legal code.

“Our doctors were committing this intervention without the comfort and peace of mind that they would not be subject to any legal liability. We are in no way legalising abortion, but the right of a woman to live needs to be reflected in law as well.”

Abela however insisted that whoever abused the legal amendment and committed illegal procedures and abortions would face legal consequences.

Standards Commissioner nomination

PM Abela said that the Opposition did not offer a valid reason for its objection to the nomination of Chief Justice Emeritus Joseph Azzopardi for the position of commissioner for standards in public life.

He accused Opposition Leader Bernard Grech of making a “U-turn”, after having approved of the nomination before.

Abela said that the government’s proposal for an anti-deadlock mechanism, whenever there wasn’t a two-thirds majority vote in favour of such appointments, was required in order for the situation to not remain idle.