Momentum pushes domestic violence reforms

Momentum promised to ensure that every reported case of domestic violence is acted upon with urgency, protection for victims, and concrete action which no longer leaves families exposed at such critical moments.

"Every time someone in Malta is killed by a partner they have already reported, both parties release a statement, light a candle, and go back to business as usual,” Momentum Executive Committee Member Katya Compagno said. “The system they trusted is the same system the next victim will trust, and it will fail them in the same way.”

On Wednesday, the party issued a series of proposals targeting domestic violence, insisting that Malta’s response to these crimes is broken, citing delayed response time, the bottleneck in the courts, and the absence of safe accommodation for victims of domestic violence and their children who have nowhere else to go.

Momentum also proposed an additional judge dedicated exclusively to domestic violence cases to strengthen the judiciary's capacity to handle the caseload with the speed and seriousness it requires.

“Justice that arrives late is no justice at all, and in domestic violence cases delay can kill,” Momentum insisted. “Malta has witnessed too many tragedies where warning signs were ignored and protection came too late.”

The party called for the provision of accommodation for victims of domestic violence and their children, explaining that a person who leaves an abusive home with their children cannot wait  days or weeks for a place to sleep. 

Momentum reminded that the state relies on NGOs to provide this essential support for victims, while leaving those same NGOs to chase funding. It asserted that Momentum in parliament would push for the government to shoulder the cost of all maintenance and refurbishing expenses within the premises of NGOs which provide this support.

Domestic violence in Malta is not an abstract policy problem, Momentum said, adding that it is the victims who reported their abuser to the police and waited, it is children who watched the system take its time, and the families who turned to the state for protection and received forms, delays, and silence.