Activist group Moviment Graffitti held a flash mob on Tuesday in front of the Msida Police Station to protest the unrest and senseless acquittal of a former police officer charged with raping and harassing a female colleague on multiple occasions in 2018.
View this post on Instagram
The protest saw the activists performing a piece called ‘The Rapist is You’, which is a well known performance piece originating from Chile.
The protest targets the blaming of sexual assault victims, with the demonstration reframing the scenario through the chant of ‘It wasn’t my fault: not where I was, not how I dressed. You are the rapist. It’s the police. The judges. The state.’
Moviment Graffitti highlighted how in a verdict last week, a judge ‘unnecessarily mentioned that the woman had avoided answering questions about her personal life, and ruled that the accused’s confession to raping his colleague could not be considered evidence because the caution was not administered according to the law at the time.’
View this post on Instagram
‘In light of the insensitivity we witnessed, we reiterate calls for quicker judicial procedures, stronger training to the judiciary and a culture within our Justice system that regularly resorts to external rape trauma experts that can show empathy to victims’ the group said.
The protest was backed by other activists groups such as Young Progressive Beings, MGRM and the Women’s Rights Foundation.
#MaltaDaily