Call for protection for victims of domestic violence

For victims of domestic violence to have the courage to speak up and get out of their situation, they need to be assured justice will be done, according to Labour MP Justyne Caruana.

Dr Caruana said the law had to be amended to strengthen protection orders for victims.

She said the law had to be enforced, especially when it came to urgent cases because those who were supposed to be taken to court urgently still had to wait their turn.

The Social Policy Ministry's Commission on Domestic Violence said last week it intended to carry out a survey to assess how many cases of abuse went unreported after recent figures showed that reports of domestic violence rose by 25 per cent last year, reaching 602 cases compared to 477 in 2008. The majority of the victims, 467, were women and 59 cases involved children.

Dr Caruana said this study was crucial because it was a fact that there were a lot of hidden cases, which hindered a full view of the cases of domestic violence.