No adequate shelter for young girl caught in vicious circle

The desperate situation of a 16-year-old girl caught in a vicious circle was laid bare yesterday when a judge and lawyer agreed there were no homes specifically geared to cater for teenagers like her.

The girl, who cannot be named because she is a minor, has been institutionalised since the age of three and was in court after her lawyer, Peter Fenech, who represents the government support agency Appoġġ, requested she be granted bail and taken out of prison.

She had been jailed for 40 days for breaching bail conditions after being charged with theft, which she has served, but remained in prison pending an appeal from a judgment jailing her for three months, also on theft charges.

Female section B, where she was being kept, was no place for a girl her age, especially after coming into contact with women who were awaiting murder and attempted murder trials, Dr Fenech said yesterday.

Although she has been kept in other homes, the colourful characters one met did not help the ­­situation, which had come about because there was nowhere to house youngsters such as this girl, he said.

Mr Justice David Scicluna agreed. The reason she had breached bail was because she left the home she was living in with five friends aged between 14 and 17 and failed to return by the stipulated time. She had remained missing for 17 days, Dr Fenech said.

The point was that she had paid her dues, adding that, in a situation like this, “not only do you fall foul of the law, you become a victim”, he said. Mr Justice Scicluna asked where the girl would stay if she was granted bail.  After a number of phone calls, Dr Fenech said she could stay at the home she had previously left but was waiting for confirmation that a bed was available.

The girl, however, told the judge she had left that home because she was fed up and it was not the right place for her.

Lawyer Lara Lanfranco from the Attorney General’s Office said the court should look into the facts of the case. The girl’s history, showed she had already breached bail conditions twice before and it was highly likely she would do it again. Furthermore, the law dictated that, in granting bail, the court should make sure the person involved followed those conditions.

Dr Lanfranco said she appreciated the girl’s situation but thought it would be better for her to remain where she was.

Towards the end of the sitting, Dr Fenech said the girl could not stay at YMCA because one of their homes had closed down due to lack of funding and putting her with a family was out of the question.

Mr Justice Scicluna told the girl he would grant her bail but he would have none of her previous behaviour. He ordered her to remain at the home she had previously left whether she liked it or not.

He also ordered her not to tell her friends where she would be living, to sign twice a week at her local police station and to be indoors by 8 p.m., among other conditions, including a personal guarantee of €500. He ordered her to follow an Embark 4 Life course, which is a launch pad for teenagers who have been institutionalised.