A strong focus on increasing awareness and working to streamline policies for a quicker turnaround on prosecutions are the cornerstone of Malta’s second national strategy on gender-based and domestic violence.

Launched by Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis and lawyer Lydia Abela, the Prime Minister’s wife, the strategy, for 2021 and 2022, lays out goals the government hopes to achieve while continuing with the implementation of recommendations made by the expert group on action against violence against women and domestic violence.

The action plan is based on four sectors; integrated policies and data collection; prevention; protection and support; and prosecution.

The strategy lays out avenues where further research into the phenomenon is planned to ensure that current policies are:

* safeguarding victims and not preventing them from coming forward;

* expanding services available to victims; and

* increasing training and efficiency when it comes to the investigation and prosecution of such cases. 

Calling violence a “plague on civilised society”, Zammit Lewis said research and awareness are integral towards a serious approach to tackling the problem.

“Domestic violence is the fruit of a certain kind of ignorance and stigma that still, unfortunately, lingers in society, so we really want to emphasise awareness and continuous educational campaigns to get the message across,” he said.

He added that justice services were also in the process of being modernising to better serve victims. The modernisation included the full digitalisation of courts and the setting up of facilities for victims to be able to testify away from their alleged aggressors.

“Eventually we will have a magistrate that specialises in such cases, so that they can be dealt with the sensitivity they deserve at every step of the process.” 

Abela said that treating victims with love and empathy was paramount to doing justice with people afflicted by violence.

“This strategy will be successful when we have taken what we’ve written and turn it into a reality that changes people’s lives for the better,” she said.

“People find relief when you try to understand where they are coming from. While that sometimes might be difficult, understanding what they’ve been through is the best way to fill them with hope that tomorrow will be better.” 

The strategy may be viewed online here or in the PDF below.