Honorary Minister,
Eminent members of the academia,
Distinguished guests,
I would like to extend a warm welcome to you all, especially to those of you, who have travelled to our beautiful island to participate in this public seminar.
It is with pride that today, I address this Public Seminar to discuss gender, violence and prevention.
This public seminar is practically happening on the morrow of what is allegedly a typical crime of domestic violence, whereby a woman, as I speak, is fighting for her life, in the intesive care unit of Malta’s general hospital.
The Maltese are still in shock, hence this public seminar takes an even more important national dimension.
The prevention of any sort of violence should be on the agenda of every country, every government and policy maker, every researcher, and indeed, every one of us.
When the violence is between genders, the issue becomes more intimate, requiring even more collaboration between stakeholders, from all of society.
Gender violence constitutes a breach of the fundamental right to life, liberty, security, and dignity, equality between women and men, non-discrimination, and physical and mental integrity.
Domestic violence is one of the biggest threats to men, women and children, as well as to their health and well-being.
Globally, it is estimated that 1 in 3 women approximately, will experience violence during her lifetime, often at the hands of an intimate partner.
Also, very recently, on the 5th March 2014, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights published a survey on violence against women, which was based on face to face interviews with 42,000 women participating across the 28 member states of the European Union, whereby a picture of extensive abuse, affecting many women’s lives, emerges.
In the EU, an estimated 13 million women experienced physical violence, and 3.7 million women experienced sexual violence in the course of the twevle months preceding the survey interviews. However, these crimes are systematically under reported to the authorities.
According to this same report, 55% of women have been sexually harassed, 18% have been stalked, and 43% have faced psychological abuse. In addition, 22% of all women in the EU, have experienced physical or sexual violence by a partner.
The Fundamental Rights Agency survey, also shows that one in 10 women, has experienced some form of sexual violence after the age of 15, and one in 20 women has been raped after the age of 15.
The existing constraints, halt progress in addressing gender violence, and needs to be tackled, if we are to prevent it.
The constraints include:
not enough priority being given to gender violence; treating violence against women and children as a one-time occurrence; lack of resources; dismissing domestic violence as a culturally-rooted problem, that is either too complex, or not severe enough, to warrant urgent attention; and the fact that gender violence takes place behind closed doors, has furthered inaction in the name of privacy.
If we are to take the prevention of gender violence seriously, and empower victims of violence, we need to open the doors wide open. This means opening the doors to men involved in eliminating violence against women. This will effectively make a big difference in changing the mentality, the culture and the attitudes.
Given the scale of violence against women reported in the survey conducted by the Fundamental Rights Agency, it is being recommended that violence against women be acknowledged and addressed as a fundamental rights abuse, within the framework of the EU’s responses to crime and criminal victimisation.
The Fundamental Rights Agency is also calling for the ratification of the Istanbul Convention by the EU member states and by the EU itself.
I am proud to state that Malta is not only signatory to the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, but it has also started the parliamentary process to ratify it.
As President of Malta, I earnestly await the moment, when I will give the seal of approval, to any laws, or amendments to existing laws, that will make the prevention of gender violence a reality.
The Istanbul Convention is the first legally-binding instrument in Europe in this field, and in terms of scope, it is the most far reaching international instrument to address this serious violation of human rights and scourge to our society.
It aims at zero tolerance for violence against women, and is a major step forward in making Europe a safer place; a Europe free from gender-based violence.
I encourage more countries to open their doors to the Istanbul Convention, which also emphasises the importance of collecting data on domestic violence, so that each country may construct a clear picture of the extent of the problem.
Another telling occurance that I would like to mention, is the hearing on sexual exploitation of girls, which was organised and conducted on the 29th January 2014 at the Council of Europe, to stop sexual violence against children.
The general rapporteur on children, underlined the importance of spreading the word through national parliaments in order to effect change.
I take this opportunity to urge all parliamentarians, to stand up against this scourge, and to put in all their efforts, against all sorts of violence against children and women.
The National Health Service estimates that, 30% of domestic abuse cases commence during pregnancy, and can even result in the deaths of both mother and child.
Pregnant adolescents are most at risk from violence by their partners, with 10% of women between the ages of 13 and 17 victims of domestic abuse.
This issue is the source of many, of the social issues of our time. It is not only the family that suffers, but the suffering is inherited by future generations.
Children are disproportionately affected by the impact of domestic violence, as between 68% and 80% of spousal assaults, are witnessed by children.
Research has shown, that children who experience violence in their families, are at risk from adjustment, difficulties in the cognitive, emotional and psychological domains.
Effects include anxiety, depression, difficulty in concentrating, and feelings of hopelessness, insecurity, lack of self confidence, low self esteem, passivity, poor academic performance, poor impulse control, and sleep disturbance.
Some effects may even persist throughout adolescence and adulthood. There is also a close correlation between the incidence of domestic violence within families, and other forms of abuse, such as child abuse.
More attention must be paid to domestic violence as a humanitarian issue that is common, devastating and often unreported.
Many a time the approaches used have been mismatched to the needs women expressed.
Too often, the scarce resources provided for programmes treat violence against women and children as a one time occurrence, requiring discrete interventions to heal wounds or prosecute perpetrators.
Yet women speak of domestic violence as impacting every aspect of their lives, over a period of time, keeping them afraid and isolated from their friends and family, and dependent on men who abuse them.
Women need action that confronts this multifaceted reality. They want to be healthy, both physically and emotionally, to be financially independent, to have supportive communities that speak out against violence, and to have options for securing their safety.
During the last decade, women have come forward after having been attacked, beaten, abused and assaulted, the majority being victimised not by a stranger but by a loved one, an intimate partner or spouse.
If women are expected to contribute their vast potential to rebuilding more peaceful, stable communities, they must be safe both inside and outside their own homes.
Europe also needs to open its doors to a more thorough evidence-based approach, to violence by championing more research on the issue.
Only when we are all ready to make this commitment towards the prevention of gender violence, can men, women and children achieve their full potential in our societies.
I am sure that your deliberations during this public seminar, will bring further benefits to the much needed awareness building and empowerment process.
Hence, I augur you, a fruitful conference.
Lastly, to our visitors, I hope you will find some time to explore our beautiful islands, and if not, you are most welcome to visit us whenever you can.