I am Jane Doe

Every time news breaks of another woman’s life violently cut short, as we witnessed recently when a mother was killed by her own son, the public script follows a predictable, hypocritical pattern.

We hear expressions of shock, empty condolences from politicians, and recycled promises that “lessons will be learned”. Yet, as the headlines fade, the reality for women in Malta remains unchanged—they continue to be subjected to a continuum of violence that strips them of their dignity, safety, and ultimately, their lives. 

When we talk about violence against women, public discourse often focuses solely on its most extreme outcome—femicide. But femicide does not happen in a vacuum. It is the lethal climax of a pyramid of abuse that begins long before physical violence occurs. It feeds on emotional terrorism, psychological manipulation, financial control, and coercive behaviour that forces women to live in constant fear within their own homes.

This behaviour is nurtured by a society that still harbours deep-seated patriarchal values, where male dominance, ownership, and entitlement over women’s lives are tolerated, minimised, or dismissed as private family matters. 

It is an insult to victims and their families to continue framing these deaths as “isolated tragedies”. Women in Malta are not only being abused and killed by partners, ex-partners, or family members; they are being systematically betrayed by the state apparatus meant to protect them. 

How can we claim to have a functioning justice system when domestic violence reports sit on shelves for months while risk assessments fail to prevent murder? How can we speak of justice when court cases drag on for a decade as in the case of Eleanor Mangion, whose family is left hanging banners outside parliament demanding progress 10 years after her murder? What message does it send when perpetrators, like the killer of Chantelle Chetcuti, walk free, travel, and build new lives while victims’ families are left to process grief amidst institutional inaction? 

The long, agonising list of women killed in Malta over the decades—mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers—is not just a record of individual loss. It is a damning indictment of a system riddled with legal loopholes, structural delays, and a lack of political will to treat violence against women as the emergency it is. 

We refuse to accept this reality any longer. We refuse to let women remain statistics, forgotten files, or nameless casualties of a broken system. 

This is why, under the banner Jiena Jane Doe, Moviment Graffitti is calling on the public to join us on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. We will gather on Wednesday, 25 November at 6pm in front of parliament. 

We are not meeting for empty speeches or political platitudes. We are gathering to take a solemn, collective stand against institutional negligence and patriarchal violence. We will give voice, presence, and visibility to every woman silenced by abuse and failed by the state. 

Violence against women, whether physical, emotional, or psychological, is a societal crisis. Demand accountability, demand justice, and stand with us to say, no more. 

The gathering will take place on 25 November at 6pm in Valletta, in front of parliament.