The Group of Experts on Action Against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) issued its first Baseline Evaluation Report on Malta.
The aim of this report is to analyse and provide measures of implementation taken by the Government of Malta with regards to the Council of Europe Convention and its aspects in preventing and combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, as well as Gender-Based Violence. The report includes the monitoring process for the years 2019 and 2020.
Minister for Justice, Equality and Governance Edward Zammit Lewis, together with Parliamentary Secretary for Equality and Reforms Rosianne Cutajar, welcomed this evaluation report and underlined that the Government has taken important measures in order for this Convention to be implemented.
Such actions include:
- The adoption of Malta’s first National Strategy ‘Society’s Concern: Gender-Based Violence and Domestic Violence Action Plan’ in 2018.
- The Government’s commitment to launch and implement a Second National Strategy for the years 2021-2022 which is based on the four pillars structure.
- The Commission on Domestic Violence has been strengthened and widened in order to also address Gender-Based Violence.
- The Government’s commitment to analyse the current situation of migrant women and victims of sexual violence in order to proactively address their needs.
- Strengthening the Government’s awareness campaigns with regards to addressing inequalities between women and men. Such preventive tools are set to also target the various educational institutions around Malta and Gozo.
- Strengthening the specialised legal service for victims of Gender-Based Violence and Domestic Violence through Legal Aid Malta.
- The extension of the national helpline 179 to specifically address calls from victims of GBV and DV. This has anticipated the initiative of the German Presidency of the Council to provide an EU wide helpline for such victims.
- Training to prosecutors in areas of Gender-Based Violence and Domestic Violence, where prosecutors meet and brainstorm with NGOs. Consequently, prosecutors will be enabled to assist the victims and be assisted by other specialised personnel.
- Strengthening the inter-ministerial committee for the implementation of the National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Domestic Violence, which was setup to uphold meetings with NGOs and other stakeholders to ascertain that the victim’s needs are adequately addressed.
- The establishment of protocols and guidelines in the education, health and justice sectors (engagement with the judiciary shall respect limits of judicial independence). This shall strengthen cooperation and coordination amongst the various stakeholders.
- Increasing the Commission’s financial resources to ensure that the monitoring of the Istanbul Convention obligations and the National Strategy are implemented at an inter-ministerial level.
- Public social partnerships, whereby NGOs can utilise public funding to deliver services for victims of Gender-Based Violence and Domestic Violence.
The Commission on Gender-based Violence and Domestic Violence, as the coordinating body, is committed to ensure that the recommendations put forward by the GREVIO team are in line with the Government’s policy objectives in the field of GBV and DV.
Minister Edward Zammit Lewis welcomed all recommendations and initiatives that aimed to combat GBV and DV. He emphasised that “all individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender and identity, should be given the same legal guarantees against violence”.
Moreover, Minister Edward Zammit Lewis emphasised that it is “pivotal to ensure that any professionals who provide assistance to GBV or DV victims are provided with the necessary tools and training to deal with the cases at hand – this includes legal professionals and members sitting on the judicial bench. No person should be left behind, and no one should fall within any lacunae of our legal system. The protection of victims and their children is a priority of this Government, consequently all legal avenues to safeguard those in need will be explored.”
Parliamentary Secretary Rosianne Cutajar strongly reiterated that, while in most cases the victims are women, it is important not to forget that men can also be victims of such crime. She continued by saying that this form of abuse is also experienced by same-sex couples and the elderly within our society.
She emphasized the importance of educational campaigns aimed at raising awareness in our society on par with continuous training for all those who in one way or another assist victims of gender-based violence and domestic violence.
A few days away from the launch of the Sixteenth Day of Activism against Domestic Violence, the Parliamentary Secretary would like to thank all the staff within the Commission against Gender-Based Violence and Domestic Violence and all NGOs working in the field, whilst also thanking all government entities, including the Police Force which this year has set up a specialised unit relating to such crime in order to provide the best service to these victims.
File photo
