‘We Have A Dream: A Future Without Violence’: National Campaign Against Gender-Based Violence

1. What is the core message behind this campaign?

We want to emphasise that gender-based and domestic violence are a reality that is experienced by numerous victims and that such abuse impacts children. Much like victims of domestic violence, children who experience abuse suffer in silence, feel helpless and might also think that they’re to blame for the abuse perpetuated at home. That is why one of our core messages for this campaign is to encourage those who have abusive behaviours and attitudes to seek professional services to assist them in noting their harmful actions, take accountability and change their attitudes towards those around them, particularly towards their partners and their children. To emphasise these elements, we worked closely with The Travellers to depict these messages in their latest released song, ‘Sbejħa’.

2. Why is it important to speak about gender-based violence and domestic violence?

As noted in the Istanbul Convention, gender-based violence involves any acts that are committed against a person due to their gender, and these forms of abuse are deeply rooted in gender stereotypes which result in power imbalances between genders, gender inequalities, and gender-based violence.

Gender-based and domestic violence are not stand alone offences, they are offences which are part of a continuum in our society. When speaking about prevention, one cannot downplay casual acts which continue to encourage or excuse gender-based violence. Gender-based violence affects each and every one of us and some forms, like psychological or tech-facilitated violence, are difficult to recognise. Ignoring or downplaying gender-based violence is part of the problem and to mitigate this, as a Commission, we keep on raising awareness on these issues by adopting a whole family approach to empower victims to leave and heal from abusive relationships, to protect children from witnessing abuse and to encourage perpetrators to seek appropriate interventions.

Everyone deserves to live in a society which is free from abuse and by raising awareness on these issues, the more crimes are reported with the hope of rehabilitating perpetrators and safeguarding victims and their children.

3. Some might argue that even men experience abuse. What are your thoughts?

Although men and boys can be victims of domestic violence and their experiences often are underreported to authorities, even violence experienced by women and girls is underreported with an estimate of only 1 in 5 women contacting healthcare/social services, and just 1 in 8 report the incident to the police (EIGE, 2024).

When speaking about gender-based violence, emphasis is often focused on women and girls because of patriarchal social norms which put them at greater risks of experiencing abuse and this reality is reflected in statistics. However, this is not about victimising one gender and accusing the other. This is about working towards a shift in attitudes and behaviours that sustain gender stereotypes, inequalities and power imbalances to enhance safety, dignity and respect irrespective of gender.

4. What can be done to encourage more victims to seek help?

Through awareness-raising, victims of gender-based violence and domestic violence are empowered to share their experiences, to build supportive networks, to seek justice, and to access professional support services. Moreover, it is important to note that the existing support services provide a safety plan for victims and their children to leave an abusive relationship in a manner that prioritises their safety and wellbeing.

However, it is equally important for perpetrators to seek help through therapy or the STOP! The Violence and Abuse service which is specialised in helping those with abusive behaviour to shift their attitudes and recognise the harms that gender-based and domestic violence cause.

This is the ultimate goal of the ‘We Have a Dream: A Future Without Violence’ campaign; to empower victims, to protect child witnesses and to encourage perpetrators to seek professional interventions.

If you or someone you know is experiencing gender-based violence or domestic violence, visit this link where you may find information and contact details of professional support services: https://stopviolence.gov.mt/directory/ .

If you think that you have an abusive behaviour, contact the STOP! The Violence and Abuse service on +356 22959000 or visit: https://stopviolence.gov.mt/stop-the-violence-and-abuse-service/ .