Domestic violence laws had to be revised to provide protection for couples who did not live together under the same roof, an expert warned yesterday.

Renèe Laiviera also noted that in Malta only 50 per cent of victims of domestic violence sought some form of help.

Existing legislation defines domestic violence as being “any act of violence, even if only verbal, perpetrated by a household member upon another household member”. As a result, Ms Laiviera said, victims of violence who did not live with their abusive partners were falling through the cracks.

A representative of Aġenzija Appoġġ elaborated on legislative issues concerning domestic abuse. Existing laws placed the onus to press charges for domestic violence on the victim, she said. Although magistrates and judges could technically pursue cases even when a victim dropped charges, this was rarely done. Ms Laiviera was speaking at a seminar aimed at informing employers of the impact of domestic violence on their businesses. It was organised by the Commission on Domestic Violence as part of an information campaign on dignity to survivors of domestic violence. The campaign is partially funded by the EU funds.

A study on domestic abuse in Malta held this year found that more than one in every four women experienced emotional, physical or sexual violence at the hands of their partner. Employers, Ms Laiviera said, should encourage staff to speak up about abuse.

Domestic violence often had negative effects on employment but the costs of recruiting a new employee far outweighed the cost of providing victims with support structures, she argued.

Commission chairman Joanne Xuereb echoed Ms Laiviera’s comments. Employers, she said, had to be patient with victims of abuse. “Getting over such a trauma is not a matter of days or weeks,” she said.

“Abuse at home can often spill over onto the workplace. Employers must be ready to listen to their employees and be sensitive to symptoms of abuse.”

Employers attending the seminar were invited to adopt a workplace policy on domestic violence, pledging to provide a work environment free from violence or threats and to alert management of any behaviour that violated the policy.

If victims of abuse were referred to the Employment Training Corporation through Appoġġ they could qualify for a number of employment support schemes, such as subsidised childcare, ETC employment adviser Maronia Avellino said.