Sex abusers can only be prosecuted if a report is filed by the victim or the parents of a minor as the law stands now.

Children’s Commissioner Carmen Zammit was non-committal yesterday when asked whether the law should be changed but insisted that, “first and foremost”, the law had to protect children.

She pointed out that in some EU countries the Children’s Commissioner had a legal set up to help children file judicial applications. “Malta does not permit me to do so but I am in discussions with the authorities on the matter,” she added.

When presenting her office’s annual report to President George Abela yesterday, Ms Zammit said she had not yet discussed the issue of paedophile priests and child sex abuse claims with the Church. “The matter worries me a lot because priests are people who children are supposed to trust,” she said.