Activists held a demonstration in remembrance of the victims of femicide in Malta to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. 

Moviment Graffitti said they are holding two days of activities highlighting the continuous cycle of violence – physical, domestic, psychological and emotional – suffered by women.  

Distinct from homicide and other forms of gender violence, femicide is a leading cause of premature death for women globally.

However, although it has a high profile in the US and South America, research on this crime in Europe is sporadic and not well documented.

On Friday, the group, together with activists from Young Progressive Beings and Women’s Rights Foundation, performed “L-istupratur huwa int” (You are the Rapist) in a demonstration held outside the court in Valletta.

The women’s chant of “you are the rapist” is directed at society at large and national institutions, which the demonstrators say are guilty of failing to treat violence against women with the urgency it demands. 

Activists also wore masks covered in blood as a reminder that femicide silences women in the most violent of ways and carried placards with the names of 16 women murdered in Malta because of their gender since 2010.

Several pairs of shoes, meanwhile, symbolised women who went missing.

“Society continues to dismiss misogynistic microaggressions as trivial. We continue to accept sexist behaviour because ‘boys will be boys’."

"We do not call it out when in the company of others. We continue to insist that ‘there are always two sides to the story,’” the group said in a statement.