Pledge of 'zero tolerance' to domestic violence

Family and Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina yesterday pledged a zero tolerance attitude towards domestic violence when she visited Ghabex, the refugee centre for female victims run by Agenzija Appogg.

A comprehensive law on domestic violence started being discussed in Parliament this week.

The centre currently houses seven adults and 10 children. It sees an average of 10 new cases a month, with most of the women having left everything behind them to escape the abuse.

The shelter is part of a chain of services which support the family. Since its establishment in 2000, it has provided safety to over 400 women, apart from children, who had to leave home and seek shelter.

The domestic violence services, which are also managed by the agency, get about 800 cases a year. Last year, 550 of these were new cases, agency operations director Yvonne Mallia said.

However, this seems to be only the tip of the iceberg of the problem of domestic violence in Malta. The coordinator of Ghabex, who cannot be named for security reasons, explained that many people are afraid of asking for help.

However, agency head Joe Gerada said people were tolerating violence less than before because demand for help had increased over the years.

Domestic violence is the misuse of power and control by one person to the detriment of another in an intimate relationship. This usually manifests itself in physical, emotional and verbal abuse.

Mrs Cristina spoke about the pitiful state of most women who seek help. In fact, some of the women present at the shelter were badly bruised in a tell-tale sign of abuse.

"Studies show that there are 30 instances of domestic violence before the woman seeks help," she said.

"The government will take all the necessary measures to eliminate violence in the family - the aim is zero tolerance," the minister said.

Speaking about the new law, Ms Cristina said it would give the courts the power to impose a number of measures to protect the victims. This includes ordering the aggressor to leave home, which will be a very welcome change for the victims since until now they had to leave their home and belongings behind while the perpetrator could go on living there.

Under the new law, it will be an offence to harass and to cause others to fear violence against themselves or their property.

The victim will no longer be required to present the police with a formal complaint since domestic violence not only affects the victim but all those close to the victim, including the children.

The police will be able to initiate proceedings without the victim's complaint, which removes the burden from the victim who is often placed under pressure to forgive the perpetrator.

The minister said the law would give special attention to children, who suffer when they witness domestic violence.

She also said that domestic violence very often passes from one generation to the next, with the children more prone to becoming victims or perpetrators themselves.

"We need to educate children from a very young age that violence is not an answer and that they need to be assertive when faced with violence," she said.

Mrs Cristina stressed that domestic violence is a problem that belongs to society as a whole; those who are not affected should not turn a blind eye.

"If we are able to provide an initial response before crisis point, we would have a greater chance of saving the situation," she said.

Mr Gerada said a number of people fail to seek help in the hope that the perpetrator will change and stop abusing them.

Although victims of domestic violence are usually associated with women, a small percentage are men. Ms Cristina said it is far more difficult for men to admit to being victims.