The Malta Women’s Lobby is calling on the government to update laws that are leading to situations where abusers hold women, especially mothers, “hostage” by refusing to sign documents ranging from separation papers to school extra-curricular forms.
The lobby was reacting to a Times of Malta story regarding a nine-month-old baby who remains stateless due to a legal loophole that is forcing the mother to choose between making a false declaration and registering the child under the name of her abusive ex-husband, or not registering the infant.
The legal loophole – which is impacting the registration of other babies – was flagged by a Maltese mother who has been battling to register her child under the rightful biological father but is being blocked from doing so.
Maltese law presumes that a child conceived in wedlock is the child of both spouses. One woman, who has been estranged from her husband for four years, had a baby from her partner nine months ago. By then, she had not yet obtained a separation as her ex-husband refused to sign the required documentation.
Despite a DNA test that proves the mother’s partner is the infant’s biological father, she is effectively being held hostage by her ex-husband as a result of the law.
In a statement, the Malta Women’s Lobby said this was yet another story which highlights “the multiple problems and hurdles” that women, and especially mothers, face on a regular basis “in our patriarchal society”.
“This is not a rare coincidence and women experiencing violence go through similar problems over and over again on a daily basis.
“For example, mothers have to get the signature of their abuser for anything related to their children, be it enrolling them into childcare or extra curriculum activities, changing their school or issuing/updating their passport and even if they want their children to receive therapy.
“And if the abusive father wants to create problems and refuses to consent, the mother and the children suffer the consequences.
“Alternatively, the mother has to file a court application which can run into hundreds of euros to try and resolve the issue,” the lobby said as it called for the government to update laws to address this reality in cases of abuse.