A team of stakeholders working within the social sector have teamed up during an Extraordinary Advisory Board to discuss issues related to child protection procedures in Malta, which was chaired by Ms. Sina Bugeja, Chief Executive Officer, Foundation for Social Welfare Services.

Whilst addressing the meeting, the Minister for Justice, Dialogue and the Family Chris Said spoke about Government’s continued commitment to ensure the correct implimentation of initiatives meant to safeguard children. He mentioned various projects spearheaded by Aaenzija Appoaa and various other government entities, which are meant to complement each other.

Minister Said mentioned the Child Offenders’ Register which was introduced earlier this year. He said that the Courts could decide whether a person should be included in the register on the basis of the crime that was committed and the circumstances presented in the evidence. The Child Offenders’ Register is a very important tool we have introduced to further protect our children from any form of abuse, but it is not the only one. The Malta Council for Sport has drafted Guidelines on the Protection of Children in Sport which are applicable across various disciplines and at all levels.

The Extraordinary Advisory Board meeting was organised by Aaenzija Appoaa within the Foundation for Social Welfare Services, in collaboration with the Office of the Commissioner for Children, together with the partnership of the Malta Communications Authority and the Directorate for Educational Services.

The main aim of this Extraordinary Advisory Board was to carry out a consultation exercise with major stakeholders in view of enhancing and developing national child protection procedures, and as a result of the Agency’s contribution in the BeSmartonline! Project. These procedures referred also to issues related to online abuse, an area on which the BeSmartonline! project has been focusing on during the past year. BeSmartonline! is coordinated by the Malta Communications Authority and brings together Aaenzija Appoaa, the Commissioner for Children, the Directorate for Educational Services (DES), the Secretariat for Catholic Education, and the Malta Police Force.

This roundtable meeting is also a follow-up to the activities organised through the Commonwealth-funded project which Aaenzija Appoaa has implemented over the past years in relation to children’s issues. This joint project between child welfare services in Malta and international experts, including experts from the Open University and King’s College London, led to the organization of various training programmes and seminars to improve child protection services and practice with regard to networking between stakeholders.

Professionals present discussed issues related to child abuse and worked in order to reach a common definition among all parties about what can be defined as child abuse and neglect. Moreover, the current referral process used by professionals was also analysed in order to identify ways how this process can be improved. This Advisory Board also looked into the role of various professionals in child protection cases and strived to improve current ways related to care planning and investigations.

Discussions revolved around providing a clear definition of what constitutes child abuse, neglect and the latest emerging type of child abuse – online abuse, the referral process adopted by professionals, and the role of professionals in care planning and investigations, and emphasised that the protection of children is a joint responsibility.

Present for this Extraordinary Advisory Board where also Mr. Francis Borg, Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Justice, Dialogue and the Family; Ms Helen D’Amato, Commissioner for Children; Ms Yvonne Mallia, Operations Director, Aaenzija Appoaa and various other professionals working with in the field of child protection.

The Foundation for Social Welfare Services (www.fsws.gov.mt) incorporates Aaenzija Appoaa (www.appogg.gov.mt), Aaenzija Sapport (www.sapport.gov.mt) and Aaenzija Sedqa (www.sedqa.gov.mt).

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