The women’s lobby has expressed its disappointment at the government’s lack of priority over women’s issues and how “not enough” is being done for victims of domestic violence. 

Last year, the Malta Women’s Lobby (MWL) compiled a list of 30 proposals, published on Women’s Day, the same time the island was experiencing a general election. 

Their document, which they dubbed a ‘femifesto’, highlighted a number of issues they believe require concerted action to tackle, including domestic violence, paid and unpaid work, and the gender imbalance in media. 

The proposals were sent to all political parties.

One year after the publication of the femifesto, the lobby- which is an umbrella organisation with 14 NGOS-  took stock of any progress on the proposals presented in the document. 

Only three of the 30 proposals have been implemented. 

“It’s frustrating and disappointing to see this,” MWL’s chairperson Anna Borg told Times of Malta.  “Women’s rights and issues have been on the back burner for far too long, and this needs to change.”

The members of Malta Women's Lobby call for the government to prioritise women's issues and rights. Photo: Jonathan Borg

Echoing Borg’s comments, academic and activist Marceline Naudi said half the population is not a big enough priority. 

“It is not enough that we have one member of the cabinet who tackles gender and women’s issues, we need cabinet as a whole to priorities these issues.” 

Borg, Naudi and academic Louiselle Vassallo were presenting the updates during a press conference held at Europe House, Valletta on Tuesday, a day before International Women's Day. 

Which are the three proposals taken up? 

The lobby’s call to introduce femicide- the killing of a woman or of a girl by a man on the basis of her gender- into the criminal code came into force in June 2022. 

Activists have been calling for femicide to be introduced into the law for years, yet it was the murder of Polish student, Paulina Dembska, in January, which ramped up the pressure to introduce femicide as an aggravating factor in homicides. 

Another proposal that was implemented last year was the increase in paternity leave- from one day to 10 days.  However, the government was forced to introduce this to ensure compliance with EU law, as a bare minimum. 

The launch of a Gender Equality and Gender Mainstreaming Strategy and Action Plan 2022- 2027, was another tick for the lobby. 

Prof Mareceline Naudi. Photo: Jonathan Borg

'It is not enough'- Naudi 

Speaking during the conference, Naudi said while there has been slight progress in addressing violence against women, much more needs to be done. 

So far, only one magistrate is dedicated to working exclusively on cases of domestic violence, which has resulted in a massive backlog of cases. 

Following the murder of mother-of-two Bernice Cassar, Prime Minister Robert Abela promised that another magistrate will be appointed to specifically work on such cases. 

“It is still not enough, one person is not enough to take care of this backlog of cases,” Naudi said. 

“It is unacceptable that we have victims waiting over two years to have their case heard, with the appointment of just one more magistrate, that would mean they would have to wait a year. It is still not enough.”

She pointed out that the number of professional staff in Domestic Violence Services has increased, but not up to the required amount, which could result in burnout for current staff. 

“There is still a major issue with both temporary protection orders, as well as longer-term protection orders,” she said. 

“This is evident in just Bernice Cassar’s femicide. she had a number of protection orders, and still, her murder happened. The issue needs to be prioritised.”

The day before Cassar was murdered at an industrial estate in Paola in November, her lawyer begged police to intervene. The victim’s estranged husband has since been charged with murder. 

"As activists, we have been saying the same thing for years, and yet, we see what happened to Bernice, and how her death could have been avoided," Naudi said.

'Manels' - Male-dominated expert panels 

On her end, Vassallo called for a more balanced representation of women in men in local media. 

She pointed out how most panels are made up of just male experts, dubbing the term ‘manels’, and how genders are divided depending on the topic. 

“If a panel is discussing economics, politics or the environment, most experts will be men. When the discussion is on health or family topics, the experts are women.”

Case in point - all three journalists that attended Tuesday’s conference were women. 

“To date, there are no measures to promote better representation which has been proposed, and no gender-specific employment and promotion guidelines have been introduced to any media houses,” she added. 

Luicelle Vassallo.Photo: Jonathan Borg

Re-introduce work flexibility 

Borg highlighted that all workers, both women and men, regardless of whether they are parents or not, need to be allowed to work flexibly in terms of choosing their hours and if they wish to work from home.

“While the increase in paid paternity is a bonus, the parental leave for both parents is not enough, and we believe more needs to be done for families,” Borg said. 

She highlighted how back in 2018 the government had started discussions on leave granted to take care of sick or disabled relatives, but nothing materialised. 

She also called for the eligibility for unemployment benefits for part-time workers to be addressed.