Three proposals to eliminate domestic violence in Malta
Domestic violence in Malta is not an abstract policy problem. It is the victims who reported their abuser to the police and waited. It is children who watched the system take its time. It is families who turned to the state for protection and received forms, delays, and silence. Major parties know of these issues, but there are still a lot of daily cases of domestic violence and Momentum wants to go further.
Today, Momentum announces three proposals to improve Malta’s response to domestic violence that are visibly broken: the response time at the point of crisis, the bottleneck in the courts, and the absence of safe accommodation for victims of domestic violence and their children who have nowhere else to go.
Ensure every case of domestic violence is addressed immediately with concrete action and protection for victims
A reported case of domestic violence is an emergency, and it must be treated as one every single time. Momentum in Parliament will push for every reported case to be acted upon with urgency, for victims to receive protection from their perpetrators quickly, and for the state to stop leaving families exposed at the most critical moment. Nothing in this proposal is new. The novelty is in implementing these measures and enforcing them to help the victims feel instantly safer
Assign an additional judge dedicated exclusively to domestic violence cases
Justice that arrives late is no justice at all, and in domestic violence cases delay can kill. Malta has witnessed too many tragedies where warning signs were ignored and protection came too late. Victims cannot wait while the system moves slowly. . The current caseload sits inside a wider judicial bottleneck where protection orders take longer than they should and cases drag on for months and years. Momentum in Parliament will push for an additional judge to be assigned exclusively to domestic violence cases, strengthening the judiciary’s capacity to handle this caseload with the speed and seriousness it require
Provide additional accommodation for victims of domestic violence and their children
A person who leaves an abusive home with their children cannot wait days or weeks for a place to sleep. The state has long relied on NGOs to provide essential social-care support for victims of domestic violence, vulnerable individuals, and families, while leaving those NGOs to chase funding. Momentum in Parliament will push for the government to shoulder the cost of all maintenance and refurbishing expenses within the premises of NGOs which provide this support, so that the people doing the work can focus on providing this essential service.
These three proposals share a single test. When someone in Malta reports domestic violence tonight, does the state respond with urgency, does the court process their case in weeks rather than years, and is there a safe bed for the victim and their children when they walk out of that house? Momentum’s commitment is to ensure that all three answers are yes.
Katya Compagno, Momentum Executive Committee member, said: “Every time someone in Malta is killed by a partner they have already reported, both parties release a statement, light a candle, and go back to business as usual. The system they trusted is the same system the next victim will trust, and it will fail them in the same way. Momentum’s three proposals are an immediate response, a dedicated judge, and a safe place to sleep. That is what protection actually looks like. This is a Bidla ta’ Vera.”
There is hope, you can help!
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