Updated 12.57pm with PN statement below.
The number of risk assessments carried out on victims who filed domestic violence reports increased from 562 in the first six months last year, to 770 during the same period this year, the Foundation for Social Welfare Service said.
The statement was issued a few days after the femicide of Nicolette Ghirxi, who was stabbed to death by her ex-partner, Edward Johnson on Sunday night.
Ghirxi had filed harassment reports - in April and May – but turned down the offer to undergo a risk assessment as she did not feel her life was at risk at that moment in time.
Women’s rights experts have come out saying that her murder was a wake-up call and highlighted the urgent need to address the often-underestimated dangers faced by victims of intimate partner violence. They called for stricter policies in place to investigate each harassment report with the strictest force of the law.
In the statement, the Foundation for Social Welfare Services did not give a reason for the increase in risk assessments, but explained the reporting system when a person suffers any form of domestic violence.
A report is first filed at the Gender-Based and Domestic Violence unit at police headquarters in Floriana, or at the Santa Luċija hub.
This happens after the police explain to the victim what happens once a report is filed, in the presence of a risk assessor.
The FSWS said that the risk assessment service is based on the value of client self-determination. The wish of the victim has to be respected.
The majority of those who file a police report agree to have a risk assessment but some refuse – either because they feel their life is not at risk, or they would have already carried out an assessment in the past and thought they would get the same risk ranking.
Throughout 2023 Appoġġ carried out 1,317 risk assessments for 1,104 people. Between January and June 2023 there were 562 assessments involving 506 people.
In the first six months of this year, the risk assessments shot up to 770 assessments for 671 people.
When a risk is deemed to be high, the case is referred to an MARAM – a Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Meeting.
The introduction of the MARAM system was one of the recommendations by Judge Geoffrey Valencia in his inquiry into the femicide of Bernice Cassar in 2021.
MARAM is made up of different entities that work directly with victims of domestic violence and their children. Its main role is to facilitate, monitor and evaluate cases of high-risk domestic violence victims and produce action plans to protect victims and their families.
The Bernice Cassar inquiry also pointed out that risk assessment tools used to determine the level of danger a particular domestic violence victim faces must be fixed or changed. The tool had deemed her "low risk".
The tool, known as the DASH system - Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Honour Risk Identification - has faced a build-up of criticism ever since it was introduced in Malta back in 2018. This has since been changed to the Danger Assessment (DA) tool that started being used in the past month.
Opposition leader seeking action by parliamentary committees
Opposition leader Bernard Grech said on Wednesday that following a meeting with the Opposition members on parliament's social and family committees, the Opposition would be writing to the government, proposing a convening of both committees to meet stakeholders to discuss ways how tragedies such as that on Monday could be avoided.
It was not enough to change the laws, he said. It needed to be ensured that the authorities were effective in their implementation.
Bernard Grech (centre) meets MPs to discuss how femicide cases can be avoided. (PN photo)