Activists met in Valletta on Sunday for a protest march marking international day for the elimination of violence against women, while paying tribute to 44 women murdered in Malta in the last 23 years.

The protestors, mostly women, including former president Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca and ADPD leader Sandra Gauci, walked behind a large banner that read "united women, deprived of justice" (nisa magħqudin, mill-ġustizzja mċaħħdin).

They chanted "no more violence, no more fear" and "we won't be silenced", with some carrying banners decrying harassment and violence. 

Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca was among those at the protest march. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

The protesters - around 150 -  marched down Republic Street, past the Ministry for Equality on Strait Street and back to Republic Street where they stopped in front of parliament for a symbolic performance and speeches. 

Among the murdered women remembered at the protest march were Paulina Dembska, Rita Ellul and Bernice Cassar, who were all killed in 2022. 

Protestors also paid tribute to Sion Grech, who had been found murdered in 2005. Eighteen years later, the two men accused of murdering her and dumping her body in a Marsa field were found not guilty of the crime. 

Paulina, Rita and Bernice were among the women remembered at the protest march. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

'Violence disguised beneath veneer of jokes, compliments'

The march was organised by Moviment Graffitti, Young Progressive Beings and MGRM to raise awareness of the pervasive culture of violence against women and girls, trans and non-binary people.

This year's protest was themed "resisting the culture of violence", a concept coined in the 1970s in a bid to explain the normalisation of violence against women in all its forms: from physical and sexual to economic and psychological.

According to the organisers, the "grim reality" persists, with violence disguised beneath the veneer of "jokes" or "compliments" in the form of unwanted sexual attention, cyber harassment, objectifying comments and stalking.

"Never was this clearer than on Wednesday, when we remembered and honoured Bernice Cilia, who last year was murdered in cold blood, a victim of femicide."

The mother-of-two was shot and killed in November last year. Her estranged husband has been charged with the femicide and is pleading not guilty. Bernice had filed multiple police reports against her ex-husband before she was killed.

Some of the protestors. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

"Our anger and disappointment at the culture and system which allowed her death to happen is still as present as ever. Even today, there are still well over 2,200 other domestic violence cases which are pending. What are we waiting for," the organisers asked.

"Resisting the culture of violence demands collective action, rejecting the notion that anyone should endure mistreatment or objectification based on gender. We need to unveil and continue to challenge the societal fabric that allows these injustices to persist."

A symbolic performance outside parliament. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

'Start with your colleagues, friends: tell them it is not ok'

Senior lecturer Marceline Naudi addressed the protestors outside parliament, noting she has been fighting violence against women for "several decades".

"There has been some progress, but it's not enough. We need to dig in and fight to change a mentality that is not limited to Malta.

"Those of us who are in Malta need to start by changing the mentality in Malta: no, when a person complains of being harassed, they should not be dismissed or told they are blowing it out of proportion."

Naudi urged people to speak up: "Tell your friends, colleagues and relatives that this mentality is not ok. It can lead to femicide... and where it doesn't lead to murder it leads to a lot of pain.. Time is up. Speak up."

Most of the attendees were women. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

You think she didn't provoke him? What was she wearing?

Activist Claria Cutajar noted that 29 of the 44 women murdered in Malta in the last 23 years were considered victims of femicide.

"The culture of violence leads to death. We are very well aware of this, but with 'violence', we don't just mean physical acts.

"You've all heard this: 'You think she didn't do anything to provoke him?' in cases of rape. Or else: 'Mhm, what was she wearing?' The familiarity of these phrases is proof that the roots of this problem are deep," Cutajar said.