Women’s lobby slams ‘imbalance’ in how domestic violence victims are treated by authorities

The Malta Women’s Lobby has joined other NGOs in saying victims of domestic violence must be allowed the best protection they can get.

“Without going into the merits of this case, in all cases we underline the duty of the authorities to act swiftly and decisively to protect victims—irrespective of who the perpetrator may be,” the NGO said.

This comes after former Repubblika President Robert Aquilina was summoned to police headquarters in Floriana for questioning concerning an alleged domestic violence incident reported on Friday night.

MaltaToday reported that the duty magistrate refused a police request for Aquilina’s arrest. The latter was instead summoned to police HQ on Saturday afternoon, where he was interrogated at length.

It is the duty magistrate that gives the go-ahead to police to arrest the alleged perpetrator, following a risk assessment of the victim. Other reports indicated that in this case the risk assessment delivered a high-risk score.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, Aquilina denied he did anything wrong.

The Malta Women’s Lobby said in situations where a risk assessment indicates that a victim is at high risk, authorities have a clear and non-negotiable obligation to err on the side of caution. “The protection of the victim must always come first—before any other consideration.”

“Very recent history has tragically shown us that when women are not granted immediate and effective protection, their lives are brutally taken—leaving behind grieving families and children who are left without their mothers,” the Malta Women’s Lobby said.

They slammed the “imbalance” in how victims are treated by the system.

“The law does not allow victims the privilege of being asked whether they want the aggressor back in the home,” it said. “On the contrary, it is often the victim who is asked whether she wants to go into a shelter, sometimes even being forced to leave the children behind—as though the onus is on her to leave, hide, and rebuild her life from scratch, while the perpetrator remains free and undisturbed. This approach is not only unjust, but also fundamentally flawed.”

The Malta Women’s Lobby urged authorities to act with urgency, determination, and a deep sense of responsibility toward the lives of women at risk.