Aġenzija Appoġġ’s Domestic Violence Services worked with 423 cases of domestic violence in the first six months of this year, the Foundation for Social Welfare Services, which the agency forms part of, said.

In a statement issued on the occasion of White Ribbon Day, the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women being celebrated on Monday, the foundation said that 37 cases were also dealt with by Għabex, the agency’s emergency shelter for women victims of domestic violence. The Agency’s Perpetrator’s Service worked with 78 cases during the same period.

The foundation said that domestic violence was a public issue that gave rise to societal problems.

Victims of domestic violence lived in the kind of fear and terror that inspired “intimate terrorism” where those nearest and dearest who were expected to offer emotional security and support could prove to be the greatest enemy. Domestic violence is a direct attack on the woman’s dignity and a violation of basic human rights, it said.

Local statistics reflected statistics from other European countries and showed that one in four women experienced domestic violence at least one time in her life. Domestic violence victims were not always women but there were also a number of men suffering from this kind of abuse.

Aġenzija Appoġġ offered a service to both victims and perpetrators of domestic violence. The victim was supported to live a life free of abuse and violence for her and her children while the perpetrator was helped to change one’s aggressive behaviour to a more respectful one.