The National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) has expressed concern that an alleged victim's sexual conduct and personality were spotlighted in a rape case which eventually acquitted the alleged aggressor.
Earlier this week a police constable was found not guilty of raping a female colleague but was condemned for harassing another female colleague, who was 19 years old at the time that it occurred.
Defence attorneys in the case went after the alleged rape victim's character and insisted that sex with the alleged aggressor had been consensual.
Judge Consuelo Scerri Herrera had harsh words for the officers at the Msida police station, likening it to a brothel, but noted while behaviour there was lax, it didn't necessarily constitute criminal wrongdoing. She also said that she did not find the alleged victim's version of events credible and cleared the accused of all charges in her regard.
Questions about the past or present sexual behaviour in rape cases only serve to humiliate the alleged victim and dismiss their version of events without shedding any new light on the details of the case, the NCPE said.
"When this happens, not only is the victim turned into the accused, but such irrelevant considerations, coupled with sexist tropes, can easily lead to perpetrators walking free," they said.
"It is to be underlined that a non-consensual sexual act is a crime regardless of the victim’s sexual experience, lifestyle and personality traits."
Most cases of sexual violence go unreported, they continued, because victims experience a strong sense of fear and helplessness.
As the body with the power to investigate cases of sexual harassment in employment, education and the provision of goods and services, the NCPE says its witnesses first-hand how difficult it is for victims to report sexual harassment out of fear of public shame and consequences on their employment and private life.
"If institutions do not actively prevent victim blaming and shaming, they will be sending a very negative message to those deliberating whether to report or not sexual violence," they said.
"Both the alleged victim and the accused have a right to due process, and everyone - the police, the Courts of Justice, the prosecution and the defence – has a responsibility to ensure that re-victimisation of persons reporting sexual violence is not part of this process."