Domestic violence reports to the police have grown rapidly over the past decade, reaching an average of five a day last year, official figures show.
According to police statistics, the number of domestic violence cases reported to the police have grown by 70 per cent over the past nine years, with this year set to be another record breaker.
Last year, 1,741 domestic violence reports were made to the police, the highest on record.
In 2013, some 700 fewer cases (1,024) had been reported.
Since then, the number of reports filed has increased steadily every year. By October this year, 1,480 reports had already been made and, as the holiday season generally sees a spike in cases, this year is forecast to see another record high.
The plight of domestic violence has been cast in the national spotlight after a domestic violence victim was murdered earlier this month.
Mother-of-two Bernice Cassar was shot dead at 8am while driving to work at Corradino. Her estranged husband, Roderick Cassar was charged with her murder and is pleading not guilty.
Her relatives and friends spoke out after the shooting about a system that had failed Bernice, who had left the matrimonial home in May after her husband allegedly held a knife to her throat. She filed a police report and the case was scheduled for November 17, 2023, a year from now.
The court issued a protection order prohibiting her husband from approaching her. She filed several reports claiming he had breached it, including one on the Sunday before her murder.
Earlier this year, Times of Malta reported that nearly 300 domestic violence cases were pending before the one magistrate assigned to handle them, according to figures compiled by the law courts.
In February, Rita Ellul was strangled to death in Għajnsielem and her partner, Lawrence Abina, has been charged with killing her. She had reported him to the police for domestic violence.
Reported numbers are likely to be significantly lower than the actual figures: it is believed that just one in every three victims of sexual assault, for instance, file reports about the abuse.
The Maltese are statistically among the Europeans least likely to report cases of domestic violence to the police and when such cases reach the courts they are often bogged down by delays and a low rate of convictions.
The figures on annual domestic violence cases were tabled in parliament by Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri in response to a parliamentary question by Opposition MP Jerome Caruana Cilia.
Other statistics tabled earlier this year show that St Paul’s Bay has the highest number of filed reports, followed by Żabbar and Żejtun. In towns such as Dingli, Iklin, Mqabba, Nadur and Sannat, only one report was filed.