Government is failing abused women with budget cuts – Helena Dalli

To commemorate International Women’s Day, Labour spokesperson for public service and equality Helena Dalli said that Malta was still lagging behind international standards for equality of women and reducing domestic violence.

“Although we have seen an improvement and investment in women to enter the labour force, we are still not seeing enough men and women working together in all social, economical, political and social sectors,” Dalli said.

Making reference to EU statistics, Dalli said that Malta had one of the lowest rates of female participation on company and public entity boards with just 3%. “There are situations where the government has a say in whether women should be placed on boards of public entities to participate in the decision-making process. But the government is not making the effort to do so.”

Despite the investment being made in education and training for women, Dalli said that the country was not taking any returns from the investment. “This is because families are still not finding the necessary structures which balance the familial responsibilities of those working.”

Dalli said that precarious work was also still an issue with a large percentage of workers being women who are forced to experience bad working conditions.

“These women are scared to talk because they might lose their jobs and are sacrificing their wellbeing to help their spouses to support their families. We are regressing and although the government pledged to halt any state contracts involving bad working conditions, this is not being done with several women working under precarious conditions,” Dalli said.

Referring to domestic violence, Dalli said she was disappointed by the government’s budget cuts which would be affecting Agenzija Sapport, which is one agency among others which supports women involved suffering from domestic violence. “I am dedicating this day to the memory and loved ones of Christina Sammut, Catherine Agius, Therese Vella and Diane Gerada who all died because of domestic violence.”

Dalli said that these budgets cuts would be further reducing the aid available to women like the mentioned four as well as faith that anything could be done for them.

“Women suffering from domestic violence are already scared to reveal themselves and ask for help or report the cases. They’re scared, lack trust in the system and feel ashamed. The government should be providing the support to change this mentality,” Dalli said.

Dalli said that the government was failing women because of the budget cuts and said that they deserved to work, be protected and have the right to live without oppression from abusive partners or relatives.

“We thankfully have a law on domestic violence which now requires the aggressor to be removed from the home instead of the victim. It is good and very important but needs further enforcement,” Dalli said.

Presenting survey statistics on the situation in Malta, Dalli said that 30% of all women surveyed know at least one person who has been abused both physically and psychologically, 77% of women believe violence in Maltese homes is normal. “One fourth of all women surveyed said they had experienced abuse and half of them, while admitting to being abused, never reported or asked for help.”