Silence please, game on

I still remember the rhyme from a write-up on rape in Jackie, the girls' magazine I used to devour minutes after getting it from the stationers', as a 12-year-old or so: "whatever we (girls) wear, wherever we go, yes means yes and no means no".

You soon find out that that's not in the real world and that the man intending to hold you down doesn't think so. You also learn that the reports on rape and aggression that make it to the police records are merely the tip of the iceberg. And, since all girls and women are potential victims, splitting hairs about feminist theory and getting angry at the unfairness of this world doesn't help. It's like leaving your car unlocked with an expensive camera on the seat because nobody has the right to take your belongings.

Another reality you learn about is that, although common sense tells you that nobody would be on the part of the rapists, except for other aggressors and sickos, it's not always the case.

For instance, it does not seem to be the experience of the 14-year-old girl who was allegedly gang-raped in Gozo recently. Those of us concerned about this matter heaved a collective sigh of relief when we read in The Sunday Times that the Chief Justice chose to comment publicly in order to expose the pressure presumably being made on the victim's family so as not to testify in court.

But the peace of mind was short-lived as we were to learn, from another The Sunday Times report a couple of months later, that the Attorney General's Office had come to the conclusion that "no charges will be brought against the lawyers or any other intermediary involved in the attempt to buy the silence of the family of a 14-year-old Nadur girl at the centre of rape allegations".

Let's go back to what the Chief Justice had said about the case last November: "This court cannot fail to observe that in this case it seems that there have been many manoeuvres by people who had an interest to see that the case does not reach the courts. It seems that, before the accused were charged in court, money even changed hands in order for there to be a forfeiture of the prosecution".

Now, this was the Chief Justice speaking. I very much doubt that he could have been far of the mark. I am more inclined to think that the attempts to bury what happened were stepped up after the Chief Justice's strong declaration. When asked for his comments, Evarist Bartolo, who has tabled various parliamentary questions on the case, said that he thinks that "the law is being used to protect those who are strong and powerful rather than those who are weak and vulnerable. It continues to protect the culture of omertá we have in our country".

The catch is evidently here: The witnesses were presumably approached before the police received the report about the rape. Thus what the priest, the lawyers, whoever they were, may have done, did not amount to the corruption of the course of justice as the latter hadn't been initiated yet. Mr Bartolo was right to point out that "There are a number of areas where, rather than change the law to deal with certain situations which we know are taking place in our society, we use the law to hide them. It's symptomatic of a sick society". The Chief Justice had enough evidence to impose harsher bail conditions on the accused. But, wonder of wonders, no grounds were found on which to press charges.

As reported in The Sunday Times, there are political connections at play in this case and what is happening confirms that we really must think seriously on a separation of powers. Is it good that the police and the Attorney General's Office are under the political control of the Executive? If yes, for whose good? If no, what are we going to do about it? Let's not allow this case to get mired in political and legal escape routes, planned by those well-tuned with the political and legal game, while the rest remain silent. It's high time we looked problems facing our ailing society straight in the face and used our time and energy on solving rather than on fudging them.

The author is a Labour member of Parliament