Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1525500
LAST Monday, Malta woke up with the news of another femi- cide: A 48-year-old Maltese woman was found murdered in her flat in Birkirkara. The police said she was killed by a 50-year- old Irishman who later was killed by the police when he was resisting arrest and brandishing a gun replica. Later the Police Commis- sioner said that in the past the man and the victim had been in a relationship but it had ended some time ago. The victim had reported threats on 22 April and had been invited to undergo a risk assessment with Appoġġ, but she refused telling the police that the in- cident had 'only involved in- sults.' Two other reports about emails and messages received from the murderer had been filed by the victim that month. Femicide is not something that is a Maltese trait. It is de- fined as the killing of women and girls because of their gen- der and can happen as a result of intimate partner violence as well as in the form of the tor- ture and misogynist slaying of women. It also includes killing of women and girls in the name of 'honour', targeting females during an armed conflict, dow- ry-related issues, female in- fanticide, and accusations of witchcraft amongst others. According to Wikipedia, the country where most femicides occur is Japan – but that is another culture and another story. The general reaction in Mal- ta to last Monday's femicide was one of shock. Many feel that we have been seeing too many women being killed in circumstances that indicate they were killed because they were women; and that more- over, nothing is really being done about it. The concept of femicide was introduced in Malta's Criminal Code in 2022. It did not introduce the crime of femicide but provid- ed for this motivation of the crime of homicide, whereby, in such cases, the judge ought to consider the highest form of punishment: life imprison- ment. The law also made the argument of 'crime of passion' as a defence redundant and unacceptable in such cases. Many feel that this change in the law has not served as a de- terrent and what is needed is more serious and urgent pre- ventive steps taken before it is too late. Emphasising that the work of the police is never easy, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said the police went through a difficult night and thanked them for the work they carried out. "They too experienced these difficult circumstances, and we will en- sure that they also receive all the necessary assistance," he added. People do not doubt that the police carried out their duty after the murder – when it was too late – but many people in Malta are angry because they think that the preventive ac- tion that police take when they have reports of sexual harass- ment, as well as of domestic and gender-based violence is not enough, and more impor- tantly too slow. In this case a report made four days before the murder was still being processed when the crime occurred. It is not just the police that prove in- adequate – it is the whole sys- tem. Appoġġ could even take long writing risk assessment reports that are concluded when it is too late. The proce- dure initiated after a report is made often prolongs the time taken by the authorities to de- cide what action is needed. On the other hand, many potential victims do not real- ise the gravity of the situation they find themselves in and unwittingly tend to underes- timate the danger could be in. While the police and Appoġġ should tackle cases of harass- ment of women with more urgency, the underestimation of danger by the victims them- selves is also a problem as it tends to dampen the vigilance and urgency with which the authorities react. The umbrella wars The promised reform on the issue of private umbrella and deckchair entrepreneurs us- ing public space seems to have already become an 'accepted' broken promise. The case of Comino is the one that irks environmen- talists the most, but all other beaches where deck chairs and umbrellas are hired by private individuals are publicly owned areas and the state is obliged to allocate use of its beach- es and receive money for this privilege. This not just a Maltese prob- lem. In Italy, the government has failed to resolve a dispute with the EU about opening up the business of Italian 'balneari' to outside competition. Lucrative licences to rent out deck chairs and beach umbrel- las, and manage beach bars and restaurants are tradition- ally family-controlled monop- olies in Italy and they are even passed down from one genera- tion to another. The EU had ordered Italy to put its 28,000 beach licences up for public tender in 2006, but successive Italian govern- ments have dragged their feet, despite pressure from Brus- sels. The issue has come back to the forefront after beach con- cessions that expired at the end of 2023 are to bet reas- signed through public tenders by the end of this year. The li- cences are officially granted by the state, but rarely come up for public bidding. Last Friday, Italy's beach managers decided to protest against exposing their busi- ness to possible rival compet- itors by 'opening' two hours later than normal and keeping their umbrellas shut during the morning sun. The issue could prove embar- rassing for Italian PM Giorgia Meloni whose right-wing coa- lition has sided with the oper- ators of beach facilities, argu- ing that opening up the sector to wider competition might push up prices and trample lo- cal traditions. This is vote- at- tracting political nonsense. Beach club managers have urged Meloni to unveil the na- tional criteria for tenders and economic compensation be- fore the mid-August summer break, but the government said it needed more time as talks with Brussels were con- tinuing. Successive Italian govern- ments have failed to liberalise the sector over the years, de- spite rulings from Italy's top administrative court and warn- ings from Brussels that Italy is risking fines over non-compli- ance with EU rules. This sort of dispute could easily become an issue in Mal- ta, unless the government it- self – or through MTA – steps in to regulate this business properly and make it subject to bids from competing entre- preneurs. 3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 AUGUST 2024 OPINION Yet another femicide micfal45@gmail.com Michael Falzon Victim Nicolette Ghirxi