Victims of abuse in Gozo prefer to seek help from parish priests and are the least likely to turn to the various State agencies within the Foundation of Social Welfare Services, according to the latest study.

The report shows how in the first six months of last year the number of Gozitans who sought support was just three in every 1,000, while in the central region of Malta the rate was 21 for every 1,000.

A comparison with the southeastern region of Malta gives an even more dramatic picture, as the rate in Gozo is 10 times less.

The low response in Gozo was also due, in most cases, to incidents of domestic violence and other forms of abuse being reported to parish priests

The study, presented yesterday, was commissioned as part of an outreach exercise by the foundation to work more closely with local councils to tackle abuse and social cases.

Commenting on the findings, the foundation’s Chief Executive, Alfred Grixti, spoke about the importance of strengthening the agencies’ presence on the sister island and added that there was clear evidence that social cases in Gozo were “underreported”.

However, he acknowledged that the low response in Gozo was also due to the fact that in most cases, incidents of domestic violence and other forms of abuse were reported to parish priests.

“While we are keen to forge closer ties with Gozitan NGOs, we need to beef up our services and establish a stronger presence on the ground,” he said.

Victims in Gozo are seven times less likely to resort to the services offered by the Foundation of Social Welfare Services. Photos: Matthew Mirabelli

He noted that part of the problem could be addressed by transferring Gozitan social workers and carers who were presently employed in Malta.

He said the next step would be to meet councils at regional level and highlight the respective findings.

“The ultimate aim is to empower them to refer social cases to the relevant authorities, as we feel that so far, councils have not been sufficiently proactive in the social aspect,” he said.

Established in 1998, the foundation incorporates three different agencies, each focusing on a different area. While Appoġġ mainly caters for social cases involving children and vulnerable people, Sapport focuses on persons with disability, while Sedqa targets people with some form of addiction ranging from alcohol, drugs to gambling.

2,883

– the number of social cases in the southeast region, which includes Cottonera and Valletta

For the purpose of this study Malta was divided into four regions: southeast (including Valletta, Cottonera, Marsa, Paola down to Żejtun, and Marsaxlokk); north (from Pembroke to Rabat all the way up to Mellieħa); central (Birkirkara, Gżira, Sliema up to Lija, Iklin and Attard); and south (from Ħamrun to Birżebbuġa, including Żebbuġ, Siġġiewi, Żurrieq, Mqabba and Qrendi). Gozo and Comino comprised the fifth region.

In total, during the period under review the foundation handled 11,658 cases. However, this figure is approximate as individuals who sought help multiple times were counted for each incident, which means there may be a slight overestimation in the data.

Though the southeast region, which includes Cottonera and Valletta, topped the list with 2,883 cases, the difference compared to the rest of the island was not significant enough to support the perception that certain localities were more prone to social problems than others.

As a matter of fact, the total cases across other regions varied slightly, between 2,139 and 2,169. In contrast, in Gozo just 123 individuals sought support in an entire six-month period.

A closer analysis by agency reveals that the most striking differences emerged in the number of people who made use of Sedqa. The greatest concentration of cases was in the southeast region, where the number of individuals who received treatment was more than double that in the north.

However, in the case of Appoġġ and Sapport, the differences were not so pronounced, although the southeast region still topped the list.

Number of cases handled by each agency between January and June 2014

*Totals may not tally exactly, as some of the data is approximate.