Many women are still under the wrong impression that domestic violence means being beaten black and blue and fail to realise it could also mean psychological abuse, according to a survivor.
“There isn’t enough awareness about what constitutes domestic violence. Victims don’t realise how far the law stretches and that causing your partner to be scared of you and being psychologically abusive are different forms of domestic violence,” said Elaine Compagno, who is coordinating the support group Soar.
Grace Attard, from the National Council of Women, agreed. She noted that while awareness was increasing, the reality was that victims living with domestic abuse found it difficult to see they were victims and get out of the situation.
According to a report – carried out by Avon UK’s Speaking Out in Her Name campaign – women’s awareness of what constitutes domestic violence is very low in the UK. The study said that one in four women will experience abuse, reflecting the situation in Malta.
A 2010 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.
Meanwhile, yesterday, Malta’s National Statistics Office issued data showing 77 per cent of domestic violence victims who filed police reports last year were women.
This was a significant leap compared with the quoted estimate that some 97 per cent of victims are women. The NSO issued the data to mark International Women’s Day, which this year is dedicated to ending violence against women.
Marceline Naudi, a lecturer at the University’s Department of Social Policy and Social Work, said these figures ought to be interpreted cautiously and in the context of Maltese law, under which the police prosecuted.
Domestic violence was defined as abuse by a household member that could include a brother, uncle or father. So the men who reported abuse could have been abused by a male relative, said Dr Naudi, the former chairwoman of the Domestic Violence Commission.
Ms Attard and Ms Compagno agreed that the figures should be interpreted cautiously.
Ms Attard said the National Council of Women acknowledged that men were also victims and its policy proposals reflected this.
She spoke about the importance of reporting abuse as soon as possible, the need for police to take immediate action, speeding up court cases and spreading a culture of respect.
Ms Compagno said not all victims reported abuse and police reports may not reflect reality since there could be cases of men reporting an abused woman’s retaliation.
“Not all reports are true,” she said, adding that she knew men who were victims and found it hard to speak up because they were ashamed.
Those wishing to contact Soar can e-mail soarmalta@gmail.com, find Soar Malta on Facebook or call 9992 7872.
• Last year 1,118 people – 860 women and 258 men – reported being victims of domestic violence in local police stations around the island, according to the NSO.
• The most common form of violence reported for both men and women was slight injuries using physical force (498 women, 153 men) followed by psychological harm (298 women, 74 men).
• Data showed that 37 women and 15 men suffered serious injuries while 38 girls and 36 boys were victims of domestic violence.
• One man and 25 women were stalked.