Victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking and gender discrimination will have access to free legal advice as from Monday through a new service offered by the Women’s Rights Foundation.

The service, that is completely free, will be offered by a qualified and specialised lawyer and will be available every Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 2 and 6pm. Victims can access the free legal helpline on 8006 2149.

This is the first free helpline specifically dealing with domestic violence, sexual abuse, trafficking of human beings and gender discrimination.

Last week the Justice and Equality Ministry announced that domestic violence victims can request free legal advice from specially-trained lawyers hired by the government. This is a service limited to domestic violence victims.

Victims of domestic violence are currently in more danger as most people, including perpetrators, stay home to observe self-isolation rules amid the coronavirus outbreak. This is happening on a global scale. Britain is registering a 25 per cent increase in helpline calls since lockdown began while the French authorities reported a rise of more than 30 per cent in the country’s domestic violence cases in the first week of the lockdown. 

But the need to protect victim goes beyond the coronavirus pandemic. Last month the Maltese courts awarded €5,000 in moral damages to a survivor of domestic violence after it ruled that the repetitive failure by the police to protect her was in breach of her fundamental human rights. The woman had filed countless police reports in different police stations but they were only sporadically followed through by different inspectors, which the court said highlighted “systemic shortcomings” in police procedures.

The woman said she hoped the judgment will trigger changes in police procedures and embolden victims to fight for their rights.