From reporting to closure : the lived experiences of victims of intimate partner violence in the Maltese criminal justice system

Abstract

This qualitative study examined the lived experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors in Malta as they navigated the criminal justice system from the initial reporting of abuse through to case closure. Despite the implementation of key legislative reforms, including the Gender-Based Violence and Domestic Violence Act (2018) and Malta’s ratification of the Istanbul Convention, participants’ narratives revealed a persistent disjunction between policy and lived reality. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with six survivors (four women and two men), highlighting themes of institutional betrayal, procedural delays, re-traumatisation, and emotional disengagement within legal proceedings. Participants reported feeling dismissed or blamed by authorities, facing inadequate protection, and being emotionally unprepared to confront perpetrators in court. These findings underscored the absence of trauma-informed approaches and the detrimental impact of a fragmented, under-resourced support system. While some survivors accessed limited emotional relief through NGOs or private therapy, true psychological closure was often found independently of legal outcomes. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on systemic secondary victimisation and calls for coordinated, culturally sensitive, and trauma-informed reforms, including multidisciplinary support models, targeted interventions, and structural measures such as GPS monitoring.