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Watch: Project Debunking Domestic-Violence Myths Makes Its Way To Malta In New Campaign

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An informative video which debunks popular misconceptions about intimate-partner violence and domestic violence has made its way to Malta.

FEM-United, the group behind the video, is an EU funded project, and the University of Malta, through the Department of Gender and Sexualities, along with the Women’s Rights Foundation, have launched a campaign to raise awareness for the prevention of femicide according to the framework of said project.

“Home is the most dangerous place for many women,” the video powerfully opened with.

The aim of this clip in particular is to show that femicide is not a spontaneous “crime of passion”, it is the peak of violent and regular abusive behaviour.

“Too often, the media frame these killings as incidents fuelled by passion or love. They excuse the abuser and blame the victim by focusing on their background and behaviour,” a representative of the department of Gender and Sexualities of the University of Malta said.

“These killings are femicides. Femicides are crimes. They are not a result of passion or love.”

The video further provides some information on femicide globally.It mentions the harrowing fact that 82 women around the world are killed every day by an intimate partner.

“These killings are not random or spontaneous acts. They are often the result of a history of violence and abusive behaviour toward the victim,” the video explained.

Perpetrators use physical, sexual, emotional, verbal, technological, and financial to exert power and control over a victim.

This can be done through a host of manipulative tactics like isolation from friends and family, humiliation, controlling income and spending, and jealousy and possessives – to name a few.

Myths and misconceptions that relieve some blame from the perpetrator and indirectly place it on the victim obscure the foundations of violence against women and femicide, they said.

Naturally, when such foundations are misconstrued, it becomes a lot harder to conceptualise and implement preventive measures – because how can one tackle a problem when its root, manifestations, and patterns remain ignored?

FEM-United is an EU funded project, and the University of Malta, through the Department of Gender and Sexualities, along with the Women’s Rights Foundation, have launched a campaign to raise awareness for the prevention of femicide according to the framework of said project.

More generally, the research project strives to increase the capacity of social workers, victim support services, police, prosecutors, NGOs, and the general public in the prevention of violence, and ultimately, femicide.

Stakeholders discussed ways in which the prevention campaign can be created in an inclusive, multi-faceted fashion, always keeping in mind intersectionality.

Strategies include prevention methods such as capacity building (training) and the creation of guidelines addressing violence against women, as well as online campaigning, targeting gender stereotypes and existing inequalities.

The international partners of the project include the Cyprus University of Technology, the Institute for Empirical Sociological Research at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (Bavaria, Germany), the University of Zaragoza (Spain), and the University of Porto (Portugal). The team is also made up of advocacy NGOs and women’s specialist services, including UMAR – União de Mulheres Alternativa e Resposta (Portugal) and MIGS – The Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies.

What do you think about this video?

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Ana is a university graduate who loves a heated debate, she’s very passionate about humanitarian issues and justice. In her free time you’ll probably catch her binge watching way too many TV shows or thinking about her next meal.

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