Domestic violence reports should be treated with more urgency by the police who often process them as district court sittings heard months after the complaint is lodged, according to a victims’ organisation.

“The police need more sensitivity training to help them realise that when victims file a report they are at their most vulnerable and need more protection than ever,” Victim Support Malta director Roberta Leprè said.

Unfortunately, she added, it was at the discretion of the police inspector at the police station where the report was lodged to determine whether a case should be treated as urgent or not. Sometimes, cases were not treated as urgent because the victim was not injured, Dr Leprè said when contacted.

Christina Sammut, a 40-year-old widow, was murdered on Saturday, four weeks after she filed a report at the Rabat police station claiming her former partner had chased her with a knife. Soon after the shooting, her ex-boyfriend, Kenneth Gafà turned himself in to the police. He was arraigned on Monday and pleaded not guilty to shooting Ms Sammut in Żebbiegħ where she had gone to meet her new boyfriend.

Ms Sammut’s 15-year-old daughter, Caricia, told The Times that, apart from the police report filed four weeks ago, her mother had reported the man to the police 24 hours before she was killed.

Sources said Ms Sammut had filed other reports but had retracted them out of fear. It is not clear whether the police took action against Mr Gafà over the recent report. However, the sources said Ms Sammut had not received a court summons to testify in the cases against him.

A recent study on the prevalence of domestic violence in Malta showed that a quarter of women have been physically, emotionally or sexually abused by their husband or partner. More than half of the abused women never sought help.

Dr Leprè said the latest murder could not be blamed on police inaction. However, the fact remained the police had to be trained to understand the complexities of domestic violence.

Victims experienced a cycle of abuse and when they were attacked or beaten that cycle was at its peak. This meant if they filed a report at the time the violence peaked, the perpetrator got even angrier because the police were brought in.

Therefore, when a report was filed, a victim required more protection than ever. The police also had to understand that when a victim filed a report, chances were it was not the first incidence of abuse.

Dr Leprè explained that when a report was filed, the police had two options to prosecute. In serious cases, they could arrest the alleged perpetrator and take him/her to court within 48 hours. In less ­serious cases, the perpetrator was served with a summons and told to turn up in court. It could take months for the case to start.

When contacted for a comment on the issue, the chairman of the Commission on Domestic Violence, Joanna Xuereb said the ­commission was “very concerned about the story of Christina ­Sammut”.

Family lawyer Lorraine Schembri Orland pointed out that, in the case of a serious offence – such as being chased with a knife – the police were obliged to treat the case with urgency.

Questions sent to the police yesterday remained unanswered at the time of writing.