Family court reform needs to be ‘courageous’ to protect families: Alex Borg

The overdue reform of the Family Court, currently underway, needs to be a more courageous exercise that safeguards families, Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg said on Sunday. 

Speaking during a PN activity for Women’s Day, held at the PN’s headquarters, Borg referred to the government’s nine-point plan to reform the Family Court in order to reduce the caseload and expedite proceedings. 

The government says that the new family court structure will have specialised resources to deal with sensitive family matters with greater urgency and care. The reform will also strengthen mediation between couples.

Borg said the reform was needed and he hoped it would bring positive change, but he said he would like to see a more “courageous” reform that safeguarded the family and children. He did not elaborate.

The PN leader said more women should be at the centre of decision-making. The Nationalist Party was focusing on politics that gave priority to equality and an improved quality of life for women, he said. 

The PN had come up with proposals to address sexual harassment at the workplace, a plan to improve work-life balance, and the extension of maternity and parental leave to support families.

Borg made his remarks during a party panel discussion on Women’s Day. It focused on employment, domestic violence, disability, and work-life balance.

The panel included athlete Paula Briffa, professor and registered family therapist Clarissa Sammut Scerri, UĦM general secretary Josef Vella, Labour studies professor Anna Borg, disability activist Amy Camilleri and MNPN president Marie Claire Zammit. 

Sammut Scerri said 27 percent of women in Malta have been sexually harassed.

She said women experienced different forms of abuse, and there were times they were unaware they were being abused by their loved ones. She said many women and their children experienced fear because their father was unpredictable and could be abusive one day and the next not, which left no sense of peace for the family. 

When asked if more men should contribute to ensuring there was a better work-life balance system, UĦM secretary Josef Vella said different generations had different views on what work-life balance was. Older generations grew up believing a woman should stay at home and focus on the family, while the man was the ‘breadwinner’. 

“Now, younger generations know and have seen that both parents are breadwinners and caregivers,” he said, emphasising how in today’s world, there was no work sector that did not involve women’s input. 

He argued that society should focus more on the ‘family’, and that both parents deserved the necessary leave and time to provide for their families.  

Highlighting her recent research, Professor Anna Borg said while just under 47 percent of women said they performed most of the childcare duties, just one per cent of men reported taking on the primary role.

“We need to focus and push for more inclusion in this country, and we need courageous politicians to make a change,” she said.

Safe repatriation of Maltese nationals from the Gulf welcomed

Alex Borg also spoke later on Sunday during a PN fund-raising event on Net TV. Questioned on the Iran war, he welcomed the safe repatriation of Maltese nationals from the Gulf region and thanked all involved.

He said Malta should continue to respect neutrality as it provided the country peace of mind that it would not end up in a war. He said he also supported humanitarian efforts to help those affected.