The silent victims of domestic violence
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Research consistently shows that children who are regularly exposed to domestic violence suffer harm even when they are not physically assaulted. Why is it that, very often, the victim and the children are the ones to leave the family unit?
Although we have made progress in tackling domestic violence over the years, it remains a serious and persistent problem.
According to the National Statistics Office, 3,798 people in Malta reported experiencing domestic violence or sought related support services in 2024, with women accounting for 76% of cases and men 24%.
Although domestic violence is often discussed in terms of its direct victims, children are most often the silent sufferers.
For many, it is not a single incident but a sustained environment of fear that profoundly affects their emotional, psychological and social development.
Research consistently shows that children who are regularly exposed to domestic violence suffer harm even when they are not physically assaulted. Living in an aggressive and unpredictable environment creates chronic stress, uncertainty and fear, all of which disrupt healthy development.
Younger children may not fully understand what they are witnessing and often internalise the conflict, believing they are somehow to blame. Adolescents, by contrast, may experience anger, shame or helplessness, feeling torn in their loyalty to both parents.
Over time, sustained exposure to fear can result in anxiety, depression and trauma-related symptoms. Sleep disturbances, nightmares and psychosomatic complaints are common, while difficulties with concentration and memory frequently undermine academic performance.
Moreover, behaviour changes are often the most visible signs. Some children withdraw socially, becoming quiet and isolated. Others externalise their distress through aggression, defiance or by engaging in substance misuse and/or self-harm.
However, beyond this angst, many of these children/young adolescents experience yet an additional trauma: displacement.
Although Malta has signed and ratified the Istanbul Convention, its implementation remains uneven. Too often, when violence occurs, the victim, usually the mother, is the one forced to leave the family home, often with young children. This practice falls short of both the letter and the spirit of the convention.
For children, being forced to leave home means losing their familiar environment, routines, friends and, sometimes, even their school. At that very moment when stability is most required, their world is abruptly turned upside down. Safety becomes associated not with protection but with loss and upheaval.
The most common justification given for this practice is the right to property – that the perpetrator cannot be removed because the home legally belongs to him. Yet, in many cases, the mother also has a legal right to the property, whether through joint ownership, marriage or family law protection.
This raises a fundamental question: Why is one’s property right prioritised over a child’s right to safety, stability and a healthy development? In short: Why is it that, very often, the victim and the children are the ones to leave the family unit and not the perpetrator, particularly when various police reports are logged?
While shelter providers are overstretched, it is high time that we implement articles 52 and 53 of the Istanbul Convention. We must urgently call upon our legal minds and policymakers to expedite court procedures and resolve any legal technicalities that are inflicting hardship on children who repeatedly are being uprooted and placed in shelters or temporary accommodation.
I firmly hold that, when the system consistently removes children from their homes, while allowing the source of violence to remain, it sends a disturbing message about whose rights truly matter.
During the past months, as a member of the Social and Family Affairs Parliamentary Committee together with my colleagues from both sides of the political aisle, we have worked together to identify shortcomings within our system. The parliamentary committee met with a wide range of stakeholders, including the police, magistrates, lawyers, healthcare professionals, service providers, academics, policymakers and victims of domestic violence, to examine Malta’s response.
This work resulted in a detailed report with an extensive list of recommendations. One can access this report through parliament’s website.
If the well-being of these children is truly our priority, then this report must not be left to gather dust on parliamentary shelves.
It should be debated openly in plenary and followed by the adoption of a clear and concrete action plan.
I am fully aware that some of the findings and recommendations, particularly those relating to police procedures and risk assessments, lengthy court procedures and the necessity to fully implement articles 52/53 of the Istanbul Convention, may be uncomfortable or politically inconvenient to the powers that be but they must be dealt with.
Protecting children demands that we rise above political divides, confront institutional shortcomings with honesty, and embrace a genuine zero-tolerance stance.
Only then can we truly claim that children’s safety, dignity and well-being come first.
(This article was published on Times of Malta – 19 February, 2026)