At the time Bernice Cassar was killed in what the police say is a femicide case, another woman was going through a very similar, if not identical, experience.

When she decided to file a police report, she had to wait for more than two hours before being told to return the next day as they were busy.

The report was finally made but nothing changed and she was forced to leave her partner who kept harassing her, even threatening that she and her child would “suffer for the rest of your life”.

So, she filed another police report and also took a risk assessment within the DASH – the Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Honour Risk Identification – system. Her risk factor was rated at “medium”, scoring 11, just like Cassar.

A restriction order against her partner was issued but the harassment persisted. Again, she reported him to the police and waited for some form of action to be taken.

No wonder the news of Cassar’s murder left her devastated.

“This is a complete farce,” the poor woman laments, insisting not enough is being done to support domestic violence victims.

Some action was taken after Cassar’s murder. An inquiry concluded that the state system failed her, notably because of lack of resources and a heavy workload.

Among other things, the inquiry had to determine whether the authorities were or should have been aware that Cassar’s life was in danger, which should really apply to all domestic violence victims going through her same ordeal. However, only the recommendations have been published so far.

Time is of the essence

Still, the retired judge conducting the inquiry did conclude that “in practice, nothing is done and things just keep going even though it is known that the system is not working… There are many proposals but the implementation is lacking”.

One of the inquiry’s recommendations promises to take shape soon. The police have announced that the Santa Luċija station will be changed into a hub for the gender-based and domestic violence unit.

The police also said they have just updated their internal standard operating procedure guidelines on domestic and gender violence in line with the inquiry recommendations.

We are told the guidelines list officers’ responsibilities when responding to calls or speaking to victims and their role when dealing with temporary protection and protection orders.

It does not seem that the guidelines themselves were actually published.

They should have been for accountability’s sake but, more importantly, so victims would know exactly what to expect and demand.

That would help determine whether measures and protocols in place or recommended are being implemented or not. As the inquiry into Cassar’s death concluded, implementation remains an issue.

The failure to act on proposals made along the years has also been noted by those working with domestic violence victims.

And it would be in order to point out that the victims go beyond those being physically, mentally or emotionally abused. Children, parents, siblings and next of kin may be in danger too.

Neither should those willing to assist and support victims be ignored, as proven by the tragic case of Sylvia King, 36, who was burned alive in her car 30 years ago.

If there is a lesson to learn from domestic violence cases is that time is of the essence. Systems need to be put in place as soon as possible to act fast against the perpetrators.

Present domestic violence victims may not still be around by that time.

Correction May 17, 2023: A previous version featured a photo that included Sylvia King. King was not a domestic violence victim and was murdered by a third party, not anyone related to her.