Survivor NGO says giving airtime to convicted offenders ‘revictimises’ survivors
'The line has been drawn' - St Jeanne Antide Foundation issues warning after Ricky Caruana podcast
A survivor-led organisation has issued a strong warning over what they describe as the growing normalisation of giving public platforms to individuals convicted of sexual offences against children, saying such actions risk revictimising survivors and undermining safeguarding efforts in Malta.
In a statement on Thursday in the wake of widespread condemnation surrounding the Ricky Caruana podcast featuring convicted sex offender Justin Haber, the Survival of Abuse with Resilience Service of St Jeanne Antide Foundation said that allowing such a platform was “not merely offensive but dangerous”.
“When influential platforms – the media, institutional or state-adjacent – give airtime or legitimacy to people convicted of sexual offences against children, it does not represent neutrality, freedom of expression, or responsible rehabilitation. It represents revictimization,” SJAF executive director Melanie Piscopo said.
“It sends a message that power can outlive accountability, that influence can override safeguarding, and critically, that children’s suffering is negotiable.”
The foundation warned this normalises grooming, sanitises abuse and alienates survivors, sending the message that the victim’s pain may be eclipsed by someone else’s platform.
“We reject this entirely,” SJAF said.
“Sexual violence against children is never a ‘mistake’, a ‘learning curve’ or a narrative to be publicly rehabilitated without survivor-centred safeguards.”
SJAF added this was an “emergency call” to all entities and “everyone who has ever supported survivor-led safeguarding work” to “speak up”.
“Silence is not neutrality; it is alignment. We survived so that this line would be drawn. It is drawn now.”