The number of domestic abuse reports on Malta has spiked following an initial decrease amid several weeks of quarantine measures introduced to curb the spread of COVID-19, the Times of Malta newspaper reported on Thursday, citing the government's social services agency, the Foundation for Social Welfare Services
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd April, 2020) The number of domestic abuse reports on Malta has spiked following an initial decrease amid several weeks of quarantine measures introduced to curb the spread of COVID-19, the Times of Malta newspaper reported on Thursday, citing the government's social services agency, the Foundation for Social Welfare Services.
The number of reports went down by about a third in mid-March after the government began to implement lockdown measures but soon surged again, particularly during this week, according to the news outlet.
The Foundation for Social Welfare Services believes that the initial decline in reports is because victims were adapting to an increased domestic presence of their abusers amid the quarantine.
There have been 443 confirmed COVID-19 cases and three related fatalities in Malta, per the World Health Organization.
