Speeches were given by representatives from multiple organisations that supported today’s demonstration in Valletta.

These were given by Dr Angele Deguara, who is an activist from Moviment Graffitti, Dr Marceline Naudi, who is a senior lecturer on gender and sexualities at the University of Malta, James Buhagiar, from Men against Violence, Amanda Cossai on behalf of the Malta LGBTIQ Rights Movement, Francesca Zammit from Young Progressive Beings, Omar Rababah, Dr Lara Dimitrijevic from the Women’s Rights Foundation.

The organisations argued that such statements, presented by three male members of the Malta Police Force, continue to show our lack of knowledge and awareness about issues related to gender and sexuality, not least about gender-based violence, which in this case culminated into yet another rape and murder of a woman.

This demonstration also comes in the wake of the attempted murder of yet another woman within the span of a few days, after a woman was stabbed multiple times in her home in Żabbar.

The organisations argued that justifying such an insensitive and uninformed claim by arguing that prior to Paulina Dembska’s murder, the alleged perpetrator of the crime attacked two men, does not make this crime gender-neutral.

They continued to say that if anything, having a “complicated sexuality” makes gender and sexuality a central concern rather than an irrelevant one. Furthermore, regardless of who the alleged perpetrator attacked before, the fact remains that ultimately, it was a woman who was raped and murdered. 

This continues to reflect the fact that women continue to be the vast majority of rape victims and of gender-based violence leading to murder.

The organisations also spoke of the culture which enables certain mentalities, which are transmitted across generations and reinforced by parents, teachers, religious leaders and other role models, as well as by the media.

The organisations made the following demands:

1. More accountability by those in authority. Everyone needs to be held accountable. We have had enough of listening to authorities telling us that there is room for improvement, we have had enough of hearing about the failures of the system, with the length of court proceedings, of failure of effective protection and tolerance towards sexist attitudes and comments towards women and girls. Time has come for all to assume responsibility from the politicians, authorities, community and every individual in our society, not least the male perpetrators.

1. Concrete action in all spheres of society to address stereotypes, misogyny and patriarchy. We need to move beyond the rhetoric as well as beyond legal mechanisms. Gender stereotypes need to be addressed on different levels, particularly at school and on the media. Opinion leaders such as politicians, religious leaders, journalists, editors, teachers, lawyers and members of the judiciary as well as policy makers need to recognise their responsibility in reproducing gender stereotypes and to take this more seriously.

1. We need to review our sexuality and relationship education guidelines, but more than that, we need to examine how these lessons filter down into the classrooms and what, if any, effect they have. We need sexual and relationship education that starts earlier and lasts longer, and that has consent and equality at its core. Young people live in a fast paced environment, with a high media impact. This affects the ways they learn about sex and relationships. As a society, we need to be pro-active. We need to provide our children with building blocks for recognising and creating healthy, power equal, gender equal, safe relationships. We need to recognise that dealing with gender based violence, disrespect and abuse is a multifaceted issue and that all pillars of our society have to pull the same rope in order for change to happen. The first step towards this requires political will from authorities and their commitment to reform.

1. Victims of sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape need to be taken more seriously. It is useless claiming that these victims do not report. They are more likely to report their abuse if they trust the police and the justice system and know that they will be taken seriously by all sectors of society including the healthcare system and the media.

1. Society needs to stop blaming the victim. We need to recognise victims as victims and not put the blame on them for being in a particular place, for what they were wearing, for not reporting earlier and so on. Society is duty bound to protect victims and to ensure that the actions of their perpetrators are taken seriously by the justice system. This needs to be reflected both in court proceedings and in the sentences meted out.

The following organisations and groups participated in the demonstration:

Moviment Graffitti

Women’s Rights Foundation

Malta LGBT+ Rights Movement (MGRM)

Young Progressive Beings

Doctors for Choice Malta

Integra Foundation

aditus foundation

YMCA Malta

Men Against Violence

Għajjejt u Xbajt

The Malta Women’s Lobby

Alleanza Kontra l-Faqar

Migrant Women Association Malta

Women for Women Foundation

What did you think about today’s demonstration?