Domestic violence victims seeking refuge from their abusers have little confidence the police will help them, according to a damning report presented to Parliament by the Social Affairs Committee.

“I did not file a report after the fourth time. By then, I had lost all trust in the police,” a victim told the committee.

Victims of domestic violence alleged that, in certain cases, police officers were even reluctant to take action due to their acquaintance with the aggressors. 

Claims were also made that, in some instances, the police downplayed cases of domestic violence to the extent that some reports were left gathering dust or not processed at all.

Committee chairman Deborah Schembri told the Times of Malta domestic violence was a deep-rooted problem.

“This report must be followed up with concrete action and, for this reason, efforts are being made to tackle the problem across the board with the involvement of the Home Affairs Ministry, which is directly responsible for the police force,” she noted. 

A common complaint was that victims did not bother to file a report because, in many cases, the aggressor turned out to have good contacts with the police. According to one victim, an officer once advised her to “sleep on it” (the incident) rather than take action.

Such behaviour by an officer supposedly tasked with protecting a victim was both degrading and unacceptable, the report said.

In another case, a victim who had requested the police to order her aggressor to remove weapons from their house as she feared for her safety was given no protection at all.

She recounted that the feedback she got from the police was that what she had requested was not necessary because her partner “would not use them”. It later transpired that the aggressor had links with a particular police officer. 

Key recommendations

• When filing a report at a local police station, victims of domestic violence should be asked whether there were any witnesses who could be summoned in court.

• Court summons for the aggressor should be issued as early as possible and, if need be, the police could seek the help of the victim to trace the accused.

• Police stations should be equipped with proper facilities (quiet rooms) where victims coule file a report in complete privacy.

• Victims must be given a copy of the charges so as to spot any potential error that might lead to dismissal of the accused.

• There should be a sentencing policy so that the punishment inflicted by the courts reflects the severity of the crime committed.

• Better training for doctors to identify potential cases of domestic violence.

• Better access to psychological support and better training for the police force on how to handle such cases.

• A university study to determine whether there is the need to open a shelter for male victims of abuse.

• Extending childcare services to centres offering shelter to victims of violence.

• Setting up intervention centres where multidisciplinary teams can assists victims and offer them shelter in cases of emergency.