A wife fleeing her home through the balcony is one of the many domestic violence cases social worker Bernadette Briffa has had to face this festive season.
Ms Briffa, who works at an emergency domestic shelter for women and children, says cases of domestic violence rise notably during the festive season due to alcohol abuse.
“During this supposedly festive season we are constantly seeing terrorised women and children in need of shelter following an incident where an abusive spouse or partner returns home drunk.”
READ: Violent partners could be evicted from the family home
Last Thursday alone, Ms Briffa encountered three such cases of alcohol-fuelled domestic violence.
She said in the majority of the cases, the women and children have already faced abuse, but this escalated over the holiday season due to alcohol abuse.
“Usually the storyline is that the husband returns home drunk and the wife is afraid to let him in in that state. The husband then decides to apply the law of the jungle, where might is right. He breaks down the door and whatever gets in his way.”
We constantly see terrorised women and children in need of shelter after an abusive spouse returns home drunk
Ms Briffa said a number of court cases last week were down to alcohol-fuelled domestic violence.
The social worker spoke of the heartbreak in seeing women and children seeking emergency shelter due to a drunk husband or partner at this time of the year.
Ms Briffa expressed her frustration at the “nauseating” adverts discouraging drink-driving, as no prominence is given to the link between alcohol abuse and domestic violence.
Offering sobering advice, the social worker insisted that people prone to bouts of violence when drunk would do better to stay away from their homes until the effects of alcohol had worn off.
“By staying away, one will save damaging one’s own property or that of others. It will save the money paid from our taxes, spent as the police are called in to arrest the drunk person and charge him in court.
“Staying away means one’s wife and children will not be forced to leave the comfort of their own home in fear,” Ms Briffa said.
Official figures tabled in Parliament show that the police received 1,205 reports on domestic violence last year, a 300 per cent increase over 2008.
Last month, the government tabled a Bill to help clamp down on domestic violence.
One of the most significant changes being proposed is the immediate eviction of perpetrators from the family home.
Such a change would give victims a reprieve from their current situation, which often sees them moving out of the family home until the court case starts to be heard.
Under the proposed amendments, police receiving a complaint could ask the duty magistrate to issue a temporary protection order against the perpetrator if a risk assessment shows the victim to be at a serious risk of harm.
The Bill seeks to widen the legal definition of domestic violence. It also proposes that the maximum sentencing for rapists be more than doubled, to 20 years.