‘Lessons not learnt over murdered victims of domestic violence’ – Farrugia

Independent MP Marlene Farrugia condemned government MPs for their reaction to threats made to her by Labour MP Joe Debono Grech last week, warning that the Chamber has sent a message to society that it has “learned nothing” from recent cases whereby victims of domestic violence were murdered by their spouses.

“Government MPs have cast a shadow on this Chamber today, on what is the international day for the elimination of violence against women,” she said in her parliamentary adjournment, while mentioning a list of murdered Maltese victims of domestic violence by name.

Farrugia reiterated her condemnation for civil liberties minister Helena Dalli over comments condemning women who “play the victim” after “provoking” men into a violent verbal response, accusing her of “defending somebody who was in the wrong, rather than walking the talk”.

“We had a chance today to prove that we don’t want any more bullies in parliament,” she said, referring to an earlier debate over an Opposition motion that called for the suspension of Labour MP Joe Debono Grech for telling Farrugia in an earlier sitting that he will “come and beat her up” (nigi ghalik u nifghek’).

She repeated that the government’s defence of Debono Grech has sent a worrying message to victims of domestic violence, arguing that many have to deal with insensitive police and high court case charges over and above the actual violence.

“It looks like it will have to be civil society and the media to bring about the necessary changes in society, if not even the civil liberties minister is ready to walk the talk,” she said, while insisting that she will not stop fighting for justice to be done with them.

“I urge you to make your voices heard, to stand up and be counted, and to reject this style of administration,” the former Labour MP said in a heartfelt appeal to potential victims of domestic violence watching her speech on TV.

In another adjournment, shadow health minister Claudette Buttigieg said that she was “shocked and insulted” at Dalli’s reaction to Debono Grech’s threats, adding that such rhetoric “wasn’t even acceptable in the 1980s”.  

“We usually advise girlfriends to quickly break up from their boyfriends as soon as they display the first sign of abuse,” she said. “Through her remarks, Dall has basically told these girls not to open their mouth until their boyfriends beat them up, because if they do and he reacts, then it would have been their fault for having provoked him.”

Moreover, she warned that Debono’s phrase ‘nigi ghalik u nifghek’ has far more serious implications than him threatening to beat her up.

“Women who hear a man shouting that to her don’t imagine that he will beat her up, but that he will do something much, much worse,” she said.