Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1536259
12 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 11 JUNE 2025 NEWS Campaign launched against assisted dying: 'It's not compassion, but failure to care' Immediate and effective protection of domestic violence victims still lacking A campaign against assisted dying has been launched by the Life Network Foundation. "Today we're launching Oqtol l-Uġigħ, Mhux Lili — a cam- paign to protect the value of every life and speak out against this dangerous proposal," the NGO said announcing the cam- paign. Government last May launched a public consultation on voluntary assisted dying, proposing a tightly regulated framework limited to mentally competent adults suffering from a terminal illness expected to lead to death within six months. The campaigners said assisted suicide isn't compassion, but a failure to care. "This law would put pressure on the vulnerable, erode med- ical ethics, and shift our focus from care to killing," it said. They argue the law could cross a line, and behind the "rhetoric" of choice lies a defective propos- al. The campaign argues govern- ment should focus its efforts on ensuring better palliative care for patients. 'Oqtol l-Uġigħ, Mhux Lili' calls for people to oppose assisted dying KARL AZZOPARDI kazzopardi@mediatoday.com.mt VICTIMS of domestic violence should be given "immediate and effective" protection, something that is still lacking despite pro- gress, lawyer and activist Lara Dimitrijevic said. "This is something that the cur- rent system is not offering; some- thing I have been talking about for the past 11 years," she said when speaking on TVM's Xtra on Monday night. Dimitrijevic said it is the state that is accountable for the faults in the system that cause more harm to victims of domestic violence. Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms and Equality Rebecca Buttigieg said investment in this sector over the past 30 years had been lacking. "Authorities did not have the training, tools or mind- set to offer the adequate help for victims," she said, adding recent reforms had started addressing some of these issues. Julianne Grima, a psychothera- pist, said domestic violence vic- tims are scared of not being be- lieved by the police. This fear, she added, is rooted in the fact that there are certain police officers who use derogatory language when speaking to victims. Graziella Attard Previ, the Na- tionalist Party's spokesperson for equality said both sides in par- liament worked for the optimal protection of victims. Attard Previ said it was the Op- position's duty to highlight in- stances where the system isn't working. She said an issue of con- cern was the delays experienced by victims in the judicial pro- cess that only made the situation worse. Attard Previ also referred to the Kidflix case, that involved an in- ternational ring of paedophiles who shared sexually explicit im- ages of children, which raised the question of whether or not the public register of child abuse and sexual offenders should become public. Buttigieg acknowledged that more needs to be done for vic- tims, saying that "the law is dy- namic," and it reacts to cases that expose a fault in the system, such as femicide. The parliamentary secretary said there is an ongoing inter- nal analysis of laws to determine how they can be improved. She said this is why there should be more women in power as women are more sensitive to issues like these. System still slated against vic- tims of sexual assault Dimitrijevic commented about a recent case involving a priest who was jailed for sexually abus- ing a 15-year-old. The sentence was reduced on appeal with the judge justifying this by saying that the relationship was 'consensual'. "This is not the first time we've heard a comment like this in our courts," she said. While big strides are being made in the fight against domes- tic violence, the situation is quite different in the fight against sex- ual assault. She said the process current- ly largely blames the victim and there is a lack of understanding what consent truly is. This has led to comments like the one passed by the judge. Dimitrijevic said that the conversation should be about the exploitation carried out by the adult in power and not blame the victim. Grima concurred, saying that victims such as the one in this case who had trouble at home can easily interpret any sort of affection as romance and it was up to the aggressor to prevent the 'relationship' by declining from the beginning. Should risk assessments be obligatory? Grima spoke about the risk as- sessment that is done to people that report domestic violence. She explained that this process is done to see what level of danger the victim faces and what the best way forward is. The risk assessment is a stand- ardised questionnaire done by a professional in the area of psy- chology and social work. Buttigieg said that discussions are being conducted with experts in the area, but there are differ- ing opinions. She explained that some professionals believe that risk assessments should be ob- ligatory to better understand the case, whereas others argue that by forcing a risk assessment on- to an unwilling victim they might not answer truthfully. Attard Previ asserted that she is in favour of risk assessments be- ing obligatory, and talked about a parliamentary question that she posed regarding the standard op- erating procedure when someone reports domestic violence. She expressed dissatisfaction about the answer she received, saying it was very ambiguous. Rather than receiving a step-by- step list of what happens, she was told that this should remain clas- sified as this is a sensitive proce- dure. ILENIA DEBONO idebono@mediatoday.com.mt Activist Lara Dimitrijevic