‘Shutting Up Is Not OK’: 13 Organisations Stress On Need For ‘Effective Justice’ Following Mount Carmel Carer Rape Case Ruling
A magisterial ruling which went against a victim in a Mount Carmel hospital carer rape case has triggered a joint statement by 13 different organisations, with calls for “swift and effective justice for victims of rape” being made.
“This joint statement comes after the attorney general based its decision not to prosecute following a recent magisterial ruling which determined that consent for sex was given in a case where a woman shared her experience of being violated in her home by her Mount Carmel carer, who she believed at the time that she could trust,” the statement began, making reference to the case of young Maltese woman Emma Agius.
Emma first opened up about her story back in July 2022, but it’s been a long and painful two-year search for justice since then.
“The ruling was delivered after an excruciating two year wait for the victim, who claimed to have received little to no information in the interim,” the joint statement continued. “She was not given the opportunity to testify in court, nor was the accused taken for questioning, in violation of the Istanbul Convention and the EU Victim’s Rights Directive setting minimum standards on the rights, support, and protection for victims of crime, ensuring that they are treated with dignity and respect following their traumatic experience.”
“There is a power imbalance that is inherent to a patient and carer relationship, particularly when the patient is in a fragile and vulnerable state of mental health, this in itself casting serious doubt on the possibility for the victim to give meaningful consent to a sexual relationship.”
The organisations went on to note that “a common trauma response is to freeze, and to be unable to immediately response to threat, particularly if neither fight nor flight are seen as safe options to escape the experienced threat or danger”.
“The absence of physical evidence of violence or coercion can thus never be taken as an indication that there was consent for sex”.
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Calling for “the full implementation of the EU Victim’s Rights Directive, to ensure that all victims of rape and sexual assault are granted their full rights as victims who have experienced, crime, receiving adequate protection and support”, the 13 organisations also went to call for “mandatory training to all professionals, including police, prosecutors and judiciary, on the elements of consent and impact that this gruesome crime has on survivors”.
“Women who have experienced rape or sexual assault must be able to have full faith in our institutions to deliver justice in a timely and effective manner, and time and time again, we risk falling short and failing victims, subjecting them to needless re-traumatisation at having justice denied,” the joint statement finished. “Their voices must be heard and their rapists must be held accountable.”
The short but powerful statement ended with two hashtags, #ShuttingUpIsNotOK and #WeStandWithEmma.
The 13 organisations are:
1. Victim Support Malta
2. Women’s Rights Foundation
3. Women for Women Foundation
4. Dar Hosea
5. Fondazzjoni Sebħ
6. The Lisa Maria Foundation
7. The Maltese Association of Social Workers
8. Dar Merħba Bik Foundation
9. SOAR Malta
10. Malta Women’s Lobby
11. Men Against Violence
12. Moviment Graffitti
13. FIDEM Foundation
Do you agree with this joint statement? Share if you think more people need to read it.
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