New figures have shed light on the plight of domestic violence victims after Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne revealed that 136 people ended up in the hospital emergency department because of domestic abuse over a two year period.

Following a parliamentary question, Fearne revealed that there had been 74 such cases in 2019 and 62 cases in 2020. No figures for 2021 were provided. No indication was given as to the gender of the victims.

Domestic violence is an issue that continuously plagues the country. Malta’s new specialised Domestic Violence Unit receives about five reports per day.

Still, more than 96% of domestic violence cases in Malta have failed to result in convictions. There could be several reasons for this, including victims refusing to testify against their aggressor, or even withdrawing their complaint.

However, much more still needs to be done for Maltese authorities to effectively tackle the problem.

What do you think of the figures?