A lifeless woman in a crime scene imitation: Most femicides are committed by an intimate partner behind closed doors. Photo: Shutterstock

Improved emergency response services have seen a general drop in homicides, although there is one kind of murder that persists. It is usually committed by an intimate partner behind closed doors – and the victim is always a woman.

But femicide too can be prevented, and this is precisely why a European observatory is being set up in Malta, the result of cooperation between several countries.

Distinct from homicide and other forms of gender violence, femicide is a leading cause of premature death for women globally. However, although it has a high profile in the US and South America, research on this crime in Europe is sporadic and not well documented.

So a group of professionals from 30 countries came together to form the first pan-European coalition on femicide. Supported by the EU-funded COST programme, the network was made up of professionals who were already studying it.

After four years of sharing good practices, researchers from Italy, Germany, Cyprus, Israel, Spain, Portugal and Malta decided to set up the first European Observatory on Femicide. It will be hosted by the University of Malta in the Department of Gender Studies and coordinated by senior lecturer Marcelline Naudi.

If femicide is to be prevented, says Dr Naudi, we have to start calling it by its name. “If you cannot name something, you cannot fight it,” she says.

The victim is killed specifically because she is a woman

Speaking to this newspaper ahead of the launch of the observatory on Thursday, Dr Naudi said that its aim will be to collate research from across Europe that focuses on the victim, surviving relatives, perpetrators, psychological causes and societal issues.

READ: Malta's most heinous murders of women

The observatory will analyse data, raise awareness and pass on the information to policymakers in a bid to prevent femicide, which, says Dr Naudi, reflects a patriarchal culture dominant across Europe.

Dr Marcelline Naudi, coordinator of the first European Observatory on Femicide. Photo: Jonathan Borg

“Over the last few years we have seen increased awareness about femicide, with people in Italy becoming more vociferous about the issue, while in Malta we have started to at least mention the word.

“We need to make sure that people understand that these murders are not isolated incidents, but a phenomenon.”

Apart from analysing numbers, the observatory will also carry out qualitative research. Its research officer, Barbara Stelmaszek, said that one of the issues the observatory will be looking into are domestic homicide reviews.

In the UK, when a person is killed in a domestic situation, a review is carried out of their relationship with support services. This sometimes dates to the victim’s childhood and can reveal systemic gaps.

READ: Stop celebrating Jack the Ripper - he was a serial killer

These reviews, she said, allows researchers to identify the places in which intervention might have made a difference and prevented femicide.

What is femicide?

In femicide, the victim is killed specifically because she is a woman. Most of these murders are the result of violence committed by an intimate partner over power and control issues.

The perpetrator is usually an estranged partner, and the crime is committed behind closed doors.

Although the rate of homicide has been on the decline across the world, the rate of femicide, a category of homicides, has remained the same.

Jacqueline Sebire, from the UK Metropolitan Police Service, believes that improved emergency response services is one of the possible reasons behind this drop. In most cases of attempted murder in public places, passers-by call emergency services and paramedics arrive immediately on site, helping to save the victim.

However, femicides most often occur behind closed doors, so they do not benefit from the improved response services.

Crime historian Eddie Attard, who recently published Il-Femiċidju: Qtil ta’ Nisa f’Malta, provides insights into five of Malta’s femicide victims.

Anġela Vassallo – 1863

Awareness about the centuries-old phenomenon of domestic violence is fairly recent. There were even instances in the past where the police and the courts turned a blind eye to the phenomenon, and it rarely surfaced during trials by jury.

Toni Vassallo, 38, was jailed for only six years after the male-only jury agreed that during the murder he was overcome by passion and his wife had provoked him by insulting and threatening him.

The victim, 40, was killed in Siġġiewi on September 27 after fleeing the house, leaving behind her children and husband. This led to an argument, and Anġela’s husband punched her. One punch landed on her abdomen, causing an internal haemorrhage.

Mary Saliba – 1978

There have been four cases where the husband committed suicide after killing his wife.

One of them followed the death of Mary Saliba, 22, which was reported by her own husband, Pullu, at the Cospicua police station on September 19.

“My wife… is in Paola,” an agitated Pullu told the police, before running out of the station. He headed straight to his uncle’s residence in Cospicua, where he was later found dead after falling three storeys.

Mary, stabbed in the heart, was found dead at home. Earlier, her mother-in-law, who lived in the same residence, had left the house seeking assistance because the couple was arguing.

Anġela Debono – 1983

At times, issues leading to tragedy can be frivolous.

Salvatore Debono, 61, was jailed for eight years after admitting in 1986 to killing his 68-year-old wife. According to the charge, the crime was committed because of passion or mental incapacity.

Anġela was stabbed and killed on January 13, 1983. She had been advised by her doctor to undergo medical tests, as she was in pain. When she refused, her husband asked her to get out of bed, and this led to an argument – and eventually her death.

Josette Scicluna – 2004

Some women have been killed by estranged partners.

One case was that of 32-year-old Josette Scicluna, slain in San Ġwann on May 3. She suffered 47 wounds. The police were informed that on the day, David Norbert Schembri, 28, turned up at her front door, asking to speak to her. She let him in, they argued and gunshots were heard. A neighbour entered the apartment and took the couple’s seven-year-old daughter out.

The trial by jury, presided over by Judge Joseph Galea Debono, started on January 19, 2009. Schembri was jailed for life, fined €7,722.36 and condemned to 30 days in solitary confinement.

Margaret Mifsud – 2012

Some cases demonstrated extreme cruelty.

Margaret Mifsud, a lawyer and mother, was found dead of asphyxiation in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq on April 19.

The prosecution argued DNA tests showed clearly the accused – former husband Nizar El Gadi – was the last person the victim had come in contact with.

“This was a case of huge cruelty, as the accused could stare right into the victim’s eyes while committing the crime,” the prosecution observed.

During the trial by jury it emerged that Dr Mifsud had filed a report the previous month claiming that the accused had tried to strangle her.

He was jailed for life, fined €17,660.44 and condemned to five periods of solitary confinement.