Isotta Rossini (left) and Krista Tabone.

Women’s Day is a day to celebrate women’s economic, social and political achievements. Women are much better off today and many countries worldwide have invested resources in developing and implementing gender equality agendas. Nevertheless, there remain many outstanding issues, one of which is gender-based violence.

According to international statistics, one in three women will be intimidated, physically assaulted, sexually assaulted, harassed, abused or raped at some point in their lives. Violence can take the form of an isolated incident or it can be repetitive and intensify over time.

Its physical and psychological consequences are complex, far-reaching, and likely to affect not only the victims themselves, but also their families, friends and loved ones.

Since March 2014, Victim Support Malta has worked with 61 victims of sexual assault. It’s important to note that not all cases of sexual assault are referred to Victim Support Malta, so in fact, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Many victims of gender-based violence may choose not to report to the police for a range of reasons, including shame or fear of retaliation. In many instances, they may be confused about what has happened to them.

This is often the case when it comes to sexual assault. Sexual assault is an umbrella term used to describe crimes involving the penetration of the victim’s body, also known as rape; attempted rape; forcing a victim to perform sexual acts, such as oral sex or penetrating the perpetrator’s body; fondling or unwanted sexual touching.

The perpetrator can be a husband, partner, family member, friend, colleague, work superior, acquaintance or stranger.

The cases encountered by Victim Support Malta vary greatly in their narratives. We have worked with women who were crept up on in a dark road, women who woke up in a stranger’s apartment with no recollection of how they got there and of what had happened to them, women who were raped by their husband in front of their children, women who were forced to touch men or witness indecent acts against their will.

Most sexual assault survivors blame themselves

Among the perpetrators are friends, friends of friends, ex-boyfriends, boyfriends and colleagues. One conclusion that we’ve reached is that there is really no ‘standard’ sexual assault. Another, much more important conclusion is that every victim needs someone to listen to them without judging them, someone to reassure them that what has happened to them is not their fault.

Most sexual assault survivors blame themselves in the first place. ‘I shouldn’t have drunk so much’, ‘I shouldn’t have been walking alone at night’, ‘Maybe I gave him the wrong signals’. These are very common statements.

The truth is that there is no scenario in which sexual coercion is acceptable, because nothing justifies an unconsented act on a person’s body. When a woman engages in a sexual act, she has the right to provide her full, informed consent. There is no such thing as non-consensual sex – there is sex, there is sexual assault, and there is rape.

If you do not consent to a sexual act, it is not sex. It’s a severe violation and a crime. Malta needs to develop into a society where sexual assault victims can speak up about their experience without fear, shame and judgement. Help is available: victims of sexual assault can refer to Victim Support Malta, Mater Dei Hospital, or to the police. All victims of sexual assault are entitled to the support of a social worker throughout the process.

Let’s make Malta a safer and fairer place to be for girls and women. Let’s help end victims’ self-blaming.

Krista Tabone and Isotta Rossoni on behalf of Victim Support Malta.