Labour MP Rosianne Cutajar has called for a national register for domestic violence abusers, arguing that people have a right to know if their new partner has a history of the crime.

“The time has come to explore the possibility of a registry which includes the names of people who have a history of abuse and domestic violence,” Cutajar said in Parliament today. “When you start a relationship with someone, you should have a right to find out whether they have a history of domestic violence.”

She cited ‘Clare’s Law’, a domestic violence disclosure scheme that the UK launched in 2014 to allow people to ask the police for information on their current partner’s criminal history. 

This scheme also enables police to disclose people’s history on their own initiative if they feel their current or ex-partner is in danger. 

Besides a change in the law, Cutajar also warned that some domestic violence system might not come forward to report their abusers in the first place due to a lack of confidence that the system will deliver them justice. 

The MP noted a recent Times of Malta report of a man who pleaded guilty in court to domestic violence after viciously assaulting his partner and at one point keeping her captive for over seven hours, but who was let free after pledging not to speak to her again. 

“No wonder there are people who don’t take this step if they’ve lost trust in our courts,” she said.