The Malta Women’s Lobby (MWL) on Friday expressed concern at comments attributed to PN MP Joe Giglio suggesting that domestic violence reports are being filed “over very minor incidents” and implying that fathers are routinely subjected to unjust outcomes in the family justice system as a result.
Framing violence reports as “disproportionate” or “minor” risks trivialising violence, undermining survivors’ access to protection, and fuelling narratives that discourage reporting. What is “minor” to an observer may not be minor to a victim, particularly where there is fear, prior abuse, threats, or coercive control, especially in the presence of children. Domestic violence is often not defined by a single isolated incident, the group said.
What is described as a “minor argument” can in fact be part of a broader pattern of control, intimidation, psychological abuse, or escalating physical aggression. The police, risk assessors, and courts are the competent authorities to assess evidence and proportionality. Minimising language risks normalising harmful conduct and supporting the perpetrators.
@We would also like to point out that the concept of Parental Alienation is widely contested and is often used by perpetrators to shift focus away from alleged violence and control,@ the group said. Children’s reluctance to stay with the aggressor is often a trauma response, not “alienation”. When children witness intimidation, abuse or violence, fear and avoidance are expected protective reactions. We must not rebrand children’s distress as a “myth” to be litigated away. Children need safety, stability, and a meaningful voice in processes affecting them.
It must be noted that a report does not automatically remove parental access, and when restrictions are imposed, they are typically designed to manage risk for the children (including supervised contact) while proceedings are determined. Protecting children means assessing risk and safety first, not relying on unverified syndromes or labels like Parental Alienation. A January 2026 critical review published in a scientific journal synthesising peer-reviewed literature from 1985 to 2025 concludes that Parental Alienation fails basic validity requirements for a psychological construct and remains unsupported by the available evidence. Hence, we caution against the uncritical reliance on such claims in decisions that affect children’s safety and stability.
MWL agreed that Malta’s family court system is under severe strain. Delays due to capacity constraints, insufficient judicial resources, and overloaded services are harming children and families. The current situation is not acceptable. Over the past years, multiple stakeholders have highlighted bottlenecks affecting parents and children navigating separation and safeguarding processes. MWL calls for clear timelines and the implementation of recommendations that reduce delays and protect children, rather than politicised commentary that blames reporting.
If we are serious about family wellbeing, we must overhaul the family court system and avoid exaggerated delays.. We are asking for a meaningful reform that requires mandatory, ongoing training for legal professionals, court experts, and members of the judiciary involved in cases of domestic violence. This will contribute towards preventing systemic failures and ensuring informed, survivor-centred decision-making. Finally, the existing inequalities between women and men, must also be tackled more seriously.
Rather than repeating a flawed and unsubstantiated narrative, we encourage politicians to focus on the wider social context that is causing separation, including the high stress factors, poor work-life balance, and economic pressures which are exacerbating conflict in households, the group said.
Malta must not give credence to myths that undermine safeguarding. We can, and must, improve the family court system while maintaining a clear, survivor-centred understanding of violence and children’s best interests, the statement concluded.