A bench at the University of Malta commissioned to honour victims of domestic violence and femicide was found vandalised on Tuesday.

The victims' names on the bench - located just outside the university library - were covered by black spray paint.

Kunsill Studenti Universitarji, which originally commissioned the bench, shared an image of the defaced bench on social media, condemning the act as "a disgusting act of violence."

The student council expressed their dismay at the desecration of a memorial intended to remember the victims of such crimes. The incident happened just a week after the murder of Nicolette Ghirxi.

Ghirxi was stabbed to death in her Swatar apartment by her former partner, Edward Johnston, who had harassed her for months after their relationship ended. Johnston was later shot dead by police after a three-hour stand-off in St Julian's. 

A KSU representative explained that the bench was installed a few years ago to commemorate the victims and that a team member had gone to add Ghirxi's name to the bench on Monday night.

“We don’t know who vandalised it or when it happened,” the representative said, adding there are no cameras to establish what happened.

KSU plans to have the bench repainted before the beginning of the academic year.

Since the start of the millennium, 48 women have been murdered in Malta, with 32 of these cases classified as femicides.