Domestic violence reports up 25 per cent

Reports of domestic violence increased by 25 per cent last year, reaching 602 cases compared to 477 in 2008.

This did not necessarily mean an increase in domestic violence but greater awareness by the public that such cases should be reported, a Home Affairs Ministry spokesman said.

The spokesman explained that 576 of the cases last year allegedly took place in Malta and the rest were reported in Gozo. The majority of the victims, 467, were women and 59 cases involved children.

In 2007, the Domestic Violence Services of Appoġġ Agency received 524 referrals and 479 cases were opened.

The incidence of domestic violence cases remains a cause of great concern for various organisations.

Last year, women's organisations joined forces to call for preventative action to stop domestic violence by offering help to victims and addressing the behaviour of perpetrators before it was too late.

The Social Policy Ministry's Commission on Domestic Violence also called on the public's help to expose abuse that went on behind closed doors. In its recent 2009 annual report, commission chairman Marceline Naudi announced that a fund to pay for private police protection was set up between Appoġġ and the commission.

The fund was aimed at offering protection to battered women and social workers accompanying them to court.

Violence against women is a universal phenomenon that persists and the perpetrators are often well known to their victims, according to the World Health Organisation.

The issue was highlighted last month when actor Charlie Sheen spent the better part of Christmas Day in a jail cell after being arrested over domestic violence claims.

Victims who feel at risk or in danger must tell someone - a trusted member of the family or a close friend - and seek immediate help and file a police report. They can ask for someone from Appoġġ's Domestic Violence Service.

Perpetrators, who want to seek help, can start by talking to their doctor or going to see a psychologist or psychiatrist who may refer them to the Perpetrators' Services of Appoġġ.

Appoġġ can be contacted on 2295 9000 or by dialling the freephone 179.

Police reports can be filed by the people involved or by third parties.