71 Men And Five Youths In Malta Are Receiving Help For Committing Domestic Abuse
71 male adults and five youths aged less than 18 are currently receiving help after having committed domestic violence crimes, Social Solidarity Minister Michael Falzon has told Parliament.
Falzon was responding to a parliamentary question from Nationalist MP Claudette Buttigieg, who asked the minister to state how many individuals were receiving help after committing a domestic violence offence.
The MP asked the minister to also state the ratio of men to women, as well as how many were under the age of 18.
According to Falzon, there are currently 71 people – all men – were currently enrolled in the ‘STOP The Violence’ programme run by the Domestic Violence Unit within the state-run Foundation for Social Wellbeing.
Five, he said, had been referred to the service by the courts or the parole and probation department because they were found guilty of domestic violence.
The minister also said that five youths younger than 18 were seeking help from the ‘Child to Parent Violence’ programme, which offers treatment to those aged between 13 and 25.
2,288 victims receiving help
The minister was also asked for statistics on the number of people receiving treatment because they had been the victims of domestic violence.
Since the start of the year, 2,288 people have sought help from the Domestic Violence Unit – 363 men and 1,952 women.
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The vast majority fell within the 18-59 year age group, though seven were younger than 18. 382 were older than 60.
Domestic violence is a major problem for Malta, and while awareness has increased in recent years, the situation remains dire.
Last year, Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis revealed in Parliament that between 2017 and 2020 989 cases of domestic violence had been reported.
However, it was only 42 cases that actually resulted in a guilty verdict, with the majority listed as having been “exhausted”.
There could be several reasons for this, including victims refusing to testify against their aggressor, or even withdrawing their complaint.
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