Justyne Caruana

Justice in abuse cases

Malta Star (06-10-2011)

When I started attending law courts, I remember a child abuse case being decided by Magistrate Padovani Grima. The accused was sent to prison and when the judgement was delivered I overheard him saying how much he had enjoyed it! This made me think about what will happen when the prison sentence is over and he is be back in society – would he do it again if there was no sign of repentance?

I ask this question to myself over and over again each time I read or get to know about a case and even more when I am involved in proceedings as parte civile to represent the victim’s rights and interests in the criminal proceedings against the perpetrator.

Apart from the violence, the victim has to refresh the memories to relate everything in court and all this most of the time disrupts the healing process and therapy of the minor. The introduction of video conferencing and amendments with regards of examination and cross examination of the minor proved to be very effective and harm-reducing to the victim. However, no matter how much therapy and care is involved, the trauma is indelible.

I once spoke to a woman who was abused when she was fourteen by a family ‘friend’. She saw her abuser many years after he had left prison. He did not recognise her but she recognised him and this brief encounter sent her to therapy again. Her question to me was: is it fair that after a couple of years in prison he is back out with such a smiling and happy face when he ruined my life for ever? What if he finds another girl and does it all over again?

This was and is a difficult question to answer. Surely such cases deserve more than a couple of years imprisonment. Apart from harsher punishments, monitoring and therapy in prison and out of prison is a must. We must be sure that after the termination of the jail term there has been true rehabilitation and that no other child is at risk. We must invest in follow up services which have a twofold utility – helping ex prisoners to reintegrate in society and monitor them to avoid the perpetration of other crimes.

In a recent case, the court also commented on the lack of services in relation to sexual deviance disorder and therefore it is imperative to have this therapy and other related services and therapies.