Training on combating gender-based violence for Portugal’s Under-16 Women’s Team
Raising awareness of domestic violence among local football community
FSR holds seminar to raise awareness on domestic violence
By Valhmor Camilleri
Domestic violence is one of the biggest problems that is afflicting our society.
During the past months, there were several cases of women suffering abuse from their husbands or partners and some of them even ended up losing their lives.
In a bid to raise awareness of this major problem afflicting women, the Malta FA, under the Football Social Responsibility Department, organised a half-day seminar for coaches in the women’s football sector at the Centenary Hall in Ta’ Qali.
Peter Busuttil, the director of the Football Social Responsibility department, organised this event as part of the Goalscore project which is an Erasmus+ programme funded by the European Union.
The Malta FA is the lead partner in Goalscore, and it is working in collaboration with the Malta Women’s Lobby, the Portuguese Football Association, the Romanian Football Association, Unimore, Filia, APAV and Euractiv.
The aim of Goalscore is to create awareness of domestic violence and has been on the MFA’s Football Social Responsibility department’s agenda for the past two years.
Chaired by Peter Busuttil, the seminar was attended by several coaches from many clubs that boast women’s teams both at senior and youth level.
Martina Farrugia, who is a researcher and expert on Gender Equality with a specialisation in violence against women, gave a general overview of what was domestic violence.
She said that the majority of the victims in domestic violence were women and the most common perpetrator were men.
Farrugia said that domestic violence could take various forms, such as physical, sexual, psychological and economic.
Other forms of violence include stalking, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, forced abortion and sterilisation.
Femicide is the most serious form of physical violence and unfortunately in the past few months we had some cases of femicide which resulted in women being killed by their partners.
Sexual violence can take the form of women forced into intercourse under the intimidation of physical aggression.
On the otherhand, a person can receive psychological harm in the form of coercion, defamation, verbal insults or harassment.
Farrugia also explained the dynamics of economical abuse which sees a women being restricted access to financial resources, suffers property damage, is prevented from working or could be forced to quit her job.
Added to that there were cases when perpetrators obliged their partners to deposit their salary into their account, seize their debit cards and even force them into debt.
Online violence could take the form of having material, which could include intimate images or videos, being distributed without the consent of the victims
Farrugia said that the perpetrator’s abuse works in the form of a cycle which starts with the honeymoon phase but then tension starts to build before it reaches the ‘explosion phase’.
A worrying statistic revealed was that 21 per cent of women and girls have suffered sexual abuse in a sporting environment – nearly a double of the rate of their male counterparts.
The seminar also featured a first-hand experience of a victim – Elaine Compagno who went on to become the General Manager at Women For Women Foundation.
Compagno related her own experience and said that there are signs to detect when a person is suffering domestic abuse but are not obvious.
She said that one clear sign is when a person loves doing something and then suddenly stops. This could be detected in sports environment when one person, who normally is very punctual for training sessions, suddenly starts missing training.
A number clear sign is if this person seems to be under control of someone else and declines offers to socialise with her team-mates after training sessions or is constantly texting someone on the phone.
Police Inspector Sylvana Gafa also spoke about the support that is being offered to victims of domestic violence.
Gafa, who is the Head of Services at the Victim Support Agency, said that one concerning signs of possible domestic violence could be detected in football nurseries when parents attend to watch their children play.
She said that when one sees a parent beating his children or is continuously shouting and swearing at them puts a lot of stress on the children and could lead to domestic violence.
“When you see children terrified of doing something because of their parents it could be a sign that something is happening at home,” Inspector Gafa said.
She appealed to the participants that if they encounter possible cases of domestic violence to contact the Victim Support Agency for assistance.
On is part, Peter Busuttil said that the next step is now to continue visiting clubs and hold sessions based on creating awareness and to promote the objectives of Goalscore.
In May, a football festival with women’s teams and also mixed gender teams will be held in Malta.
Antrenori de la cluburile de fotbal feminin, participanți la un training pentru prevenirea violenței domestice în cadrul proiectului GOALSCORE
Antrenori de la cluburile de fotbal feminin, participanți la un training pentru prevenirea violenței domestice în cadrul proiectului GOALSCORE
Antrenori și antrenoare de la patru cluburi de fotbal feminin au participat la un training pentru prevenirea violenței domestice și de gen, organizat de Federația Română de Fotbal în parteneriat cu Centrul FILIA, în cadrul proiectului european GOALSCORE.
Trainingul a avut două componente: prima, prezentată de Miruna Pantel, reprezentantă a Centrului FILIA, a avut ca scop crearea unui context în ce privește violența de gen, pentru a familiariza antrenorii cu noțiunile și felul în care se poate manifesta aceasta, indiferent că e vorba de violență economică, fizică, psihologică, sexuală sau în cuplu.
De asemenea, antrenorii și antrenoarele au aflat și despre cauzele și consecințele violenței asupra femeilor și felul în care aceasta poate afecta performanța sportivelor, în cazul în care acestea sunt victime ale violenței.
Cea de-a doua parte a cursului a constat în prezentarea a șapte activități practice, pe terenul de fotbal, pe care antrenorii le pot folosi pentru a crea un mediu de încredere în cadrul echipelor, dar și pentru a le introduce jucătoarelor noțiunile despre violența împotriva femeilor și a le încuraja să ceară ajutor dacă ajung să treacă prin astfel de situații.
Women’s Lobby says not enough being done to give protection to domestic violence victims
Women’s Lobby says not enough being done to give protection to domestic violence victims
The Malta Women’s Lobby reiterated its stand Saturday that the authorities are simply not doing enough to ensure that victims of domestic violence are being given adequate protection and timely justice.
The lobby issued a statement at the end of 16 days of activism held against domestic abuse on the first anniversary of the murder of Bernice Cassar (Cilia).
Despite recommendations of the inquiry into Cilia’s murder, there is still a big backlog in cases, with victims having to wait over a year until their aggressor is summoned in court. With a backlog of 2283 cases, evidently the appointment of a second magistrate to deal with such cases is not enough. What is worse, it has also come to light through the same article*, that the second Magistrate appointed by the Justice Ministry to support the domestic violence caseload, that previously fell solely on Magistrate Lanfranco, is, since September, no longer dealing with domestic violence cases. This suggests that the appointment of a second magistrate was just lip service, and there was never any serious intention of rectifying the caseload situation.
It’s all well and good for the government to launch a national strategy on gender-based violence (GBV) and domestic violence (DV), however, we ask the authorities to bear with us if we’re not quite applauding and clutching our pearls at this news. What’s the point of publishing nicely worded policies if their implementation remains questionable? In normal countries when governments issue a strategy of this importance, it normally starts from a well-defined budget to ensure that the plan can be executed effectively without financial constraints.
Phrases like “sufficiently safeguards victims of domestic and gender-based violence”, promises that measures will be “implemented effectively”, and ensuring that crimes are “prosecuted effectively”, mean nothing until real progress can be tangibly seen to be taking place and someone is held accountable when it’s not materialising, the lobby said.
We’ve had it up to our eyeballs with fancy talk and flashy press conferences that, ultimately, have no real and timely impact on the ones who need it most. So much for “strengthening the resources needed to tackle domestic and gender-based violence is at the forefront of government’s priorities”. Concrete and timely action is what this country needs.
It was also announced that electronic tagging and panic buttons will be introduced, in cases where a person has a protection order issued in their favour with the objective of strengthening the victims’ safety and granting them greater protection. This development was first mentioned over 10 years ago. Let’s hope that we won’t have to wait for another 10 years for its implementation. We stress that it is the duty of the state to protect the victim and the onus should not be put on the victim to request the electronic tagging of the perpetrator.
The MWL would also like to highlight that gender-based violence affects women and girls disproportionally which is why we demand that the term Violence Against Women (VAW) becomes part of the government’s narrative as well as included in any proposed legislation.
Finally, the MWL would like to applaud and salute the indefatigable NGOs who have been demanding progress for years and years. Civil society should not have to demand the most basic of measures from the authorities but should use their expertise and their energy on fine-tuning a system that is in place and working efficiently.
It is beyond disheartening and exhausting to note that the authorities are more interested in holding slick press events to state what they intend to do, yet hardly ever follow up with concrete and significant action.
Violence Against Women is a dark stain on our society, and we demand immediate and adequate protection, as well as justice for all victims of this crime, the lobby said.
Tante come te – Many like you
“Tante come te” “Many like you”, a project for women by women.
Our journey started we were assigned to create a presentation for an event held at our university called “Equality week”.
We were instructed to raise awareness and sensitize our potential audience about why women are considered a minority group that is at a disadvantage in our society.
We decided that not only did we want to raise awareness but we wanted to take an active role in creating something that could potentially go beyond and that could potentially make a difference.
So we created a website, titled “Tante come te” “Many like you”,
This website has been made so that whomever decides to view it can go on a personal journey.
There is the first section that is called “Non sei da sola” “You’re not alone” which if you click on it will bring you to a open forum where you can post anonymous confessions confiding in a virtual community potentially connecting with others.
The second section is called “Tu Vali” “You’re valid” and it leads to a blog page where we’ve posted interviews of important women in our region of Emilia Romagna who have taken an active step to help other women get out of violent and/or mentally destructive situations.
Here we’ll also post updates of festivals, marches and other activities that are constantly being organized to unite our community.
And the third section is called “Come uscirne” “How to get out”
Essentially this section is for those who don’t feel necessarily comfortable interacting with others but still needs professional help to explore their options.
In this section we’ve listed a series of Antiviolence centers, numbers for immediate intervention, and contacts of psychologists and psychiatrists who may help with online sessions.
Essentially we’ve created a safe space in which women can feel informed and not alone in a world that does leave them at a disadvantage.
We believe in reinforcing knowledge, helping others understand that there are different types of violence that are equally damaging whether they may be economic, psychological, physical etc. and there are many ways to seek resources and refuge if need be.
But above all else we underline the importance of awareness so that those who are responsible of sexism may fully acknowledge that women’s rights are human rights.
Source: https://fredeguidetti.wixsite.com/manuale-di-riconosci
MALTA FA’S FSR DEPARTMENT LAUNCHES GOALSCORE
Recent European research, involving participants from all 28 European states and reflecting the experiences of 42,000 women across EU, managed to capture the real face of Domestic Violence in Europe for a first time. The data from the survey dreadfully shows that one in three women has experienced physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15.*
The Malta FA through its Football Social Responsibility (FSR) department has embarked on the project Goalscore. The aim of this is is an innovative project funded by the EU (Erasmus+ programme) is to create awareness on domestic violence in sessions devised primarily for football coaches who work with womens’ teams. Local football clubs will be given the opportunity to participate in this project over the next two years. The Malta FA will also be extending the sessions to coaches at all levels and even to coaches in other sports. Early next year a convention will be held to discuss and propose initiatives in taking football deeper into social issues.
The Head of the Malta FA’s FSR Department, Peter Busuttil, explained that ‘this is an exciting project for the Department, especially because it prioritises women’s football and social issues, which is certainly making important steps forward’.
The Malta FA is the lead partner in Goalscore, and it is working in collaboration with the Malta Women’s Lobby, the Portuguese Football Association, the Romanian Football Association, Unimore, Filia, APAV and Euractiv.
Source: mfa.com.mt
MALTA FA SUPPORTS CAMPAIGN AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
The Malta Football Association is supporting the national campaign to raise further awareness against domestic violence. The 16 days of awareness and activism against domestic violence is spearheaded by Dr Lydia Abela, the wife of the Prime Minister who attended the launch of a series of football-related initiatives in conjunction with the ongoing campaign. Today’s event, held at the Trophies Lounge, featured the participation of Malta women’s national team players Alishia Sultana, Martina Borg and Nicole Sciberras, together with coach Mark Gatt and Pierre Brincat, the Director of Women’s Football. Dr Abela expressed her appreciation for the Malta FA’s support for this campaign, stressing that football is a very powerful medium to convey a strong message against domestic violence. Dr Abela, who was greeted by Malta FA Senior Vice-President Ludovico Micallef, thanked the Malta women’s national team for endorsing this campaign, congratulating them for their performances and victories in their final two UEFA Women’s EURO away qualifiers against Georgia (4-0) and Israel (2-0). “I want to convey my heartfelt congratulations for your achievements as you have made us really proud,” Dr Abela said. Peter Busuttil, from the Malta FA’s Football Social Responsibility Department, said that the Association’s co-ordinates several social responsibility projects and initiatives. The campaign against domestic violence will come into focus before Sunday’s derby between Valletta and Floriana, at the National Stadium, which will be broadcast live on television. Players from both teams and match officials will display orange t-shirts with the message ‘It’s not OK’ in reference to domestic and family violence.
Source: mfa.com.mt
Footballers Stand up and say NO to domestic violence
The Commission Against Domestic Violence has teamed up with the Malta Football Association as part of a project co-financed though the European Social Fund, entitled “ESF 3.43 Dignity for Domestic Violence Survivors”, to raise awareness on domestic violence.
Players for the popular football teams Valletta FC and Ħamrun Spartans will take to the field wearing white ribbons for the duration of the game to show their support for this worthy cause. Wearing a white ribbon is a personal pledge to never commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women and girls. Wearing a white ribbon is a way of saying “Our future has no violence against women”. The campaign aims to ensure men take more responsibility for reducing the level of violence against women.
This white ribbon campaign, part of a global initiative, offers men the chance to be part of the solution to end violence against women and is led by the Commission for Domestic Violence. This partnership aims to highlight the perils and tragedy of domestic violence during next Saturday’s football match at the national stadium in Ta’ Qali.
The chairperson of the Commission Against Domestic Violence, Joanna Xuereb said: ”Wearing a white ribbon is a personal pledge never to commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women or girls. This is a serious issue that is present in our society and partnering with the Malta Football Association has provided us with an opportunity to highlight all types of violence.”
MFA CEO Bjorn Vassallo emphasised: “The responsibilities of the Malta Football Association go way beyond the 90 minutes of a football match. In this regard all of us in the football family recognise the need to safeguard the values of life so that through football we can create a healthy society which would be capable of choosing between positive and negative attitudes. The Malta Football Association always insists that any form of violence is an obstacle in the development of an inclusive and active society.”
Source: independent.com.mt