Domestic violence bill needs to be 'more concise and precise'

The Domestic Violence Bill needed to be more concise and precise and should include provisions aimed at discouraging untrue allegations of domestic violence, Labour MP Joseph M. Sammut has told Parliament. He said that people found to have been making such false allegations should be held accountable.

He also insisted on the need for a clearer definition of domestic violence and harassment.

Dr Sammut said domestic violence, of any form, should not be tolerated.

The bill, he said, defined domestic violence as any act of violence, even if only verbal, perpetrated by a household member upon another household member. He was particularly concerned about the inclusion of the word "verbal" within the meaning of domestic violence. This definition was far too restrictive. It could lead to a situation where people could practically not talk to each other, because it was so difficult to establish when certain talk was not violent. True, some verbal exchanges could be violent at times, but such cases should not fall under the sanctions of this law and the people concerned should be referred for counselling.

Moreover, he did no agree with the definition of "household member." The law defined this phrase by giving six categories of persons who could possibly be considered as household members. He suggested that these categories should be eliminated so that there will be one concise definition including all those persons who were in a relationship.

Dr Sammut also made reference to the setting up of the Commission on Domestic Violence. The commission would be composed of a chairman and not less than four other members appointed by the minister after consulting such public and private agencies or entities involved in the treatment and prevention of domestic violence.

It was understandable that the minister had to refer to the agencies and NGOs, but one had to be careful that their advice was objective doing this... What they said was not always gospel truth. After all, it was well known that NGOs in particular could be seeking to protect their own interests, especially when their members depended on this work for their income.

Dr Sammut said he was not in favour of the fact that members of the commission could be appointed for more than two terms, giving them the impression that they were there for ever. One should be careful that such members did not have conflicts of interest, especially when they had close contacts with lawyers and other professions. Indeed, he felt that one of the members of the commission should be a retired judge or magistrate, enabling the commission to benefit from his recognised impartiality and his experience in dealing with cases of domestic violence.

Regarding the intervention of agencies in cases of domestic violence, Dr Sammut said such intervention should only take place when necessary and should not be heavy handed.

He recently came across a case where an agency had inquired into the private lives of the parents of a child who had quarreled with another child. While action should be taken to correct what had happened between the children, intervention should not be such as to practically amount to invasion of privacy, and risk doing more harm than good. The agencies should not be given a free hand to the extent that what they did practically amounted to an inquisition.

Dr Sammut said he agreed with the commission's role to educate the public on all aspects of domestic violence. He suggested that the commission should begin by providing the means whereby children would be taught how to respect each other from an early age.

This in time would contribute towards the elimination of domestic violence. As the educational system stood, this was not being done.

Dr Sammut said he was also concerned about the meaning of the word "harassment." One should give a clearer definition of this word and not leave its parameters so wide. Some people could be offended with the slightest gesture. Others could feel harassed because of a political comment or a comment about the rival village feast.

Here again, one could end up not speaking to somebody else. There could be a case where one of the spouses wished to remain quiet while the other rambled on and on. Would that amount to harassment and provocation? Would domestic violence then be deemed to have taken place if the quiet partner boiled over and banged his hand on the table?

He felt the police should be trained to be able to identify whether a particular case fell under domestic violence, threats or harassment. The courts too should have similar powers in the preliminary stages of the hearing of a case before other agencies were involved.

Dr Sammut asked if the bill restricted the evidence which the accused could produce in court.

He suggested that the bill should include provisions and remedies over abuse by members of the agencies involved in handling domestic violence cases, including abuse of their powers.

He said that in cases of domestic violence involving married couples, the courts should have the authority to immediately evict the aggressor from the matrimonal home so that the victim would not have to suffer twice by having to move out.

However he felt it should only be in extreme cases that the court should prohibit an aggressor from going to work since that could make a bad situation worse. There could be other remedies for people not to speak to each other at work.

Earlier in the sitting, Carmelo Abela (MLP) argued that the issue of domestic violence was to a certain extent still considered taboo because very often victims of domestic violence found it difficult to express themselves and seek help. It was necessary that the issue finally had a basis in law. He considered the bill as being another major step in the fight against domestic violence.

He said that throughout the debate, emphasis was placed on the discussion about violence between adults. On the other hand, he opted to address the issue of domestic violence on children because very often they were the real victims.

The impact on children who witnessed domestic violence would be a very strong sense of guilt. They would also feel helpless and often suffered from stress-related disorders. Another negative effect would be low self esteem. Their progress at school would also be affected.

It was important to consider how society could contribute to alleviate the suffering of such children, for example by giving them support, even educational support.

There was also the need for counselling at schools. Teachers should provide help by trying to see the real reason why children found it difficult to learn and they should refer them to appropriate help.

Mr Abela said the focus should be on how these children are given support. Appogg was already providing services to victims of domestic violence and to the aggressors. The agency should give emotional as well as educational support to children who became victims of domestic violence so that they could lead a more stable life.

He emphasised the importance of volunteers and the Church to continue providing support to the victims. He considered their assistance invaluable.

Parliamentary Secretary Francis Agius referred to the various forms of violence. Physical violence was the most dangerous one. In case of physical violence, the victim often resorted to medical assistance. Government had to provide the necessary means for immediate medical assistance. He suggested that the definition of domestic violence had to be wide to include all other forms of domestic violence.

Among them were sexual abuse and abuse of a financial nature, where a spouse was denied the money he or she needed.

The law should provide protection for the victim who reported the aggressor. He believed that the court alone should finally decide whether to terminate proceedings against the aggressor and not the victim. In conclusion he called for more professionals who were trained to deal with cases of domestic violence.

Parliamentary Secretary Helen D'Amato said this bill was being complemented by a host of other measures aimed at tackling domestic violence. However she feared that many victims did not know the services offered by Appogg, through its domestic violence unit, the response team and the shelters. Indeed, far too many people did not even report the violence they were being subjected to.

Mrs D'Amato said shelters played an important role, but it was a shame that in many circumstances it was the victim who had to leave home and move to the shelters.

The government, she said, allocated Lm36,000 to the Ghabex shelter and Lm30,000 for Dar Teresa Spinelli, besides other financial allocations. She congratulated Dar Merhba Bik which was this year celebrating its 25th anniversary. This home, she said, had provided shelter for women when there was little recognition about the problem of domestic violence.

Mrs D'Amato pointed out the work being done by the Housing Authority, which had changed the points system for the allocation of housing to give weight to homeless women who were victims of domestic violence.

The Family Court was yet another structure which was helping to address the problem of domestic violence.

Mrs D'Amato also underlined the consequences which domestic violence had on children and stressed the need for further education as a means to prevent it.

It was a positive step that guidelines on dealing with domestic violence were being issued for policemen. But it was also important to have guidelines for other frontliners, including doctors, health workers and other paramedics, teachers and heads of schools, workers in the social services sector and priests.

Mrs D'Amato underlined important sections of the bill, pointing out that court proceedings could now be started on the strength of a complaint which was not necessarily filed by a victim. It would be up to the court to decide whether a case should be continued, even when the victim said it should not, thus reducing the possibility of pressure on the victim.

The court could also issue protection orders for the victims and treatment orders for the aggressors. The bill also included provisions against harassment.

Support services would continue to be provided by Appogg while it was the new commission which would focus attention and coordinate education about domestic violence, Mrs D'Amato said.