Ian Micallef: "Better prevention of domestic violence means talking about it"

For some days now the whole of Malta has been living to the beat of the Council of Europe campaign to combat domestic violence against women, which the Congress is promoting at local level. Ian Micallef, President of the Chamber of Local Authorities and himself a local elected representative in Malta, explains what this entails.

Interview – 28.01.2008

Question: In the wake of cities as different as Strasbourg, Vienna, Odessa, Glasgow and Braga, all the municipalities of Malta are now displaying the campaign posters on their bus shelters. What led you to join in the campaign at this point in time?

Ian Micallef: As Maltese President of the Chamber of Local Authorities, I think it was only normal for Malta's delegation and local elected representatives to set an example by mobilising around this theme. The posters are currently on display everywhere, and will be left up for about ten days, but we are also holding exhibitions and information meetings on municipal premises. This commitment by Malta's municipalities is also intended to convey a message calling for even stronger promotion of this campaign in Europe. We want more capitals and big cities, such as Rome or Paris, to join the medium-sized towns in taking a stance against violence, and raising cities' awareness will be our next step.

Question: What outcomes do you expect from this campaign in Malta?

Ian Micallef: Firstly, in Malta, just as elsewhere, the campaign must prompt people to think about this problem and to realise that these forms of violence are intolerable. Similarly, talking openly about it is a means of combating fear and informing victims of their rights. What we are saying to our fellow citizens is that talking about domestic violence also helps improve its prevention. In Malta we have no precise statistics on such violence, but the campaign will shed more light on the situation, while fostering greater awareness of this issue.

Question: Apart from the information effort, the campaign calls for municipalities to take very  tangible measures to protect women victims of domestic violence, such as providing "shelters, that is to say safe flats where they can live for a while - what action is Malta taking?

Ian Micallef: We have long had such shelters, which are managed by both a government agency and the Church. As local elected representatives, our job is to ensure that the entire population is more aware of these services, and that is why we are running widespread poster campaigns. We also wish to improve co-ordination between local and national bodies that deal with prevention and victim protection measures. A further aim is taking more effective action to combat ill-treatment of children, another unacceptable aspect of domestic violence. Here too, the more we talk about the problem, the better we can fight it.