As a woman was filing a police report about being beaten up by her partner, the officer at the station opened the window to allow the aggressor to eavesdrop.
The incident was recounted yesterday by Nationalist MP Claudette Buttigieg, who called it “one of the most serious cases” of police insensitivity that she came across during parliamentary hearings on domestic violence.
It emerged during the hearings that the police needed to be trained to deal with victims of violence, she said at the launch of a research and training project by the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality.
The €375,000 EU co-funded project is called ‘Forms of violence in Malta – a gender perspective’ and will run until December 2015.
Female genital mutilation, violence on elderly men and women and bullying in schools will be at the centre of its multifaceted research aspect. The project will also include information campaigns and training initiatives that will help professionals learn to recognise abuse and intervene.
Ms Buttigieg recommended that police officers should be included among the groups that will receive the training.
The training they receive from the Domestic Violence Commission was not enough, she said. During a meeting of the Social Affairs Committee held in January, Police Commissioner Peter Paul Zammit acknowledged that one of his major concerns in dealing with domestic violence cases was police front liners’ lack of training, even if members of the force were now better informed when dealing with such cases.
It also emerged that, in court, victims were often encouraged to forgive the perpetrator, Ms Buttigieg said.
Therese Spiteri, from the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality, gave details about the project – the first time the commission was carrying out a project targeting violence.
The research aspect, she said, would look into female genital mutilation. Many women migrants in Malta come from counties that had this practice.Through the project, leaflets would be created for these women and healthcare workers and translated into the necessary languages.
Violence on older women and men will also be researched to establish the factors and consequences of this violence. This will lead to the development of a guide for professionals working with elderly people as well as posters to raise awareness, Ms Spiteri said.
The research will also look into violence, harassment and bullying among schoolchildren, and posters will be distributed in schools.
Social Dialogue Minister Helena Dalli said violence against women was a violation of human rights. One in every three women around the world was beaten or abused according to Amnesty International, she said.
“Through this project government is relaying a zero tolerance message,” she stressed.