Malta is the only country out of 10 taking part in a study on violence that did not adopt a national action plan on the trafficking of people, the report says.

The report - Ways of Implementing the EU Directives on Violence Against Women, Children and Youth, also included the participation of Slovenia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia, Hungary, Cyprus, Czech Republic and Estonia. The data for the study is up to 2006.

Carried out by the the University of Ljubljana and co-financed by the European Commission through the Daphne II Programme, the Maltese partner is the Organisation for the Promotion of Human Rights. The report says that Malta and Poland are the only two countries which joined the EU in 2003 where the prohibition of corporal punishment is incomplete. More over, there is no commitment for reform.

It notes that there is no specific Maltese law recognising the child as a victim when witnessing violence.

Furthermore, there is no legal provision for the interrogation of a minor to be done in the presence of an appropriate expert, such as a psychologist, social worker or child protection officer.

Malta is also the only country, according to the study, not to report a media campaign about violence, specifically targeting children. The country lacks a helpline specifically dedicated to children and young victims of violence, the report says.

It recommends the adoption of legally binding EU documents on violence against children in the family.

The report says that new technologies represent a new realm for violence and should be considered in the legislation, especially when it came to bullying, filmed child sexual abuse and stalking.

Better education and awareness raising on new technologies is essential, it says.

The report calls on the authorities to establish a central database on services for victims of violence, starting with available accommodation, help lines and other support programmes.

This should be accompanied by well-publicised, free 24-hour help lines for women, children and young victims of violence, with highly skilled staff available to offer psychological and legal support.

For victims of trafficking and migrant women, the help should be in the language of the victim, the report says.

It proposes a centralised data collection on violence against women, children and youth including data from the police, prosecution, judiciary, schools and social institutions.

Effective data collection, it says, can be used as a reference point for the creation and evaluation of the effectiveness of measures adopted to combat violence.

The participation of survivors in the development and evaluation of policies and services should be encouraged, the report says.

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