Domestic violence inquiry findings confirm shortcomings State was aware of – PN
Bernice Cassar inquiry: domestic violence unit shortcomings were already known to government but State failed to action, says PN MP Joe Giglio
An inquiry into the circumstances that left femicide victim Bernice Cassar unprotected from the assault of her husband – now accused of murder – had only revealed shortcomings the State was cognisant of.
The charge came from shadow minister for justice, Joe Giglio, who in a press conference said no probe was required into why Malta’s institutions are overstretched, overworked and not compensated.
The inquiry by retired judge Geoffrey Valenzia was tasked to investigate the circumstances that led to Bernice Cassar’s multiple reports to the police’s domestic violence unit going unactioned. It blamed a lack of resources and an increased workload at the DVU, for the State’s failure to protect Cassar, the mother of two brutally gunned down by her estranged husband in broad daylight.
Giglio called out the dearth of resources and a growth in criminal-related anxiety as good reasons for people to join a protest convened by the PN on Sunday.
Quoting MaltaToday’s first concerns survey of 2023, Giglio said that criminality and justice had emerged as the topmost cause for worry. This concern was among the top five for all age groups, across all regions and irrespective of political allegiance, with 27.6% of all voters flagging the issues as their principal worry.
“Government is failing to safeguard victims of domestic violence,” Nationalist MP Karol Aquilina, accompanying Giglio at the PN headquarters, added. Both MPs said it was worrying that the government could not mend a broken system that would only lead to more victims in their homes and on the streets.