Malta's 4th NAtional Action Plan

COMMITMENT 2
Mutual collaboration towards raising public awareness in support of victims' rights and victim support services

This commitment derived from Article 4 (a) of the Victims Rights Directive which states that:

• ‘(a) the type of support they can obtain and from whom, including, where relevant, basic information about access to medical support, any specialist support, including psychological support and alternative accommodation’.

In line with this provision, Malta committed to provide concerted efforts from all stakeholders working with victims, to raise public awareness, streamline information, facilitate access to services and ensure that victims are informed about their rights and the available support services.

The commitment proposed the promotion of an information and educational campaign on victims rights and support services with the collaboration of civil society organisations and to develop a concentrated online information tool that facilitates access to information.

This commitment was led by the Victim Support Agency (VSA) on behalf of Government assisted by Legal Aid Agency and Justice Departments and in collaboration with civil society organisations.

The first working group session was held on 27^th February 2024, wherein a way forward was established to commence by enhancing the common national referral point (i.e. the 116 006 National Supportline) in a way that a version is made available online and then move forward with an education campaign, raising awareness on how to access and use these services which campaign shall incorporate all partners involved in this commitment.

Further to the sub-group meeting held on the 27^th of February 2024, an agreement was reached for stakeholders to contribute on three main actions:

• 1) To strengthen the referral point - i.e. concentrating efforts for victims of crime by directing them to one common access point being the 116 006 and a common platform link each party’s website. The VSA website to be updated in a way that supports both service providers and the service users.
• 2) Outlining and making available a list of service providers who can support Service Users - the idea is to enable service users with an easy to find and direct access to services required plus provide information on the Service Providers.
• 3) All OGP theme stakeholders to prepare for an educational campaign.

VSA, Legal Aid, and Justice Department in collaboration with SOSMalta and Victim Support Malta (VSM), (the latter two) were the main contributors on behalf of civil society organisations, spearheaded the development of a dedicated web page listing out the different service providers and for service users to enable a quick access to services. The dedicated webpage showing the collaborating agencies can be accessible from this link.

In the meantime, the VSA extended the 116 006 service from 12/7 to 24/7 and NGO’s were kept abreast on this development. Referrals from 116 006 may also be directed to these NGOs, depending on the services required by the Service Users.

Service Users may also make a request for support online through the different available online tools as can be accessed through the this link.

Although the frequency of meetings under the OGP fora was very low, the commitment to strengthen Victim Support Services flourished with the technical meetings carried out for the development of the first ever National Strategy for Victim’s Rights. There all relevant stakeholders, including those grouped under this commitment were given space to voice themselves and to suggest possible new practices and recommendations which can produce a better quality of life for victims of crime. So far, a Community Needs Assessment was finalised and the first draft of strategy is under way.

The VSA did also engage on a service agreement with VSM providing for a referral system for the provision of emotional and therapeutic support, eliminating any form of waiting time to Service Users and also, did partner with SOSMalta for the implementation of an EU Funded Project known as ‘Hatedemics’. This project shall close by March 2026 and was meant to address online hate and fake news, with a specific emphasis on tackling the often overlooked and interrelated issues that intersect between hate speech and disinformation.

COMMITMENT 3
Facilitating Access to Justice for Minors

This commitment draws on the principles of access to justice for children from another perspective, one that aligns itself to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that the possibility “…to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media … “echoes the fundamental right of freedom of expression.

The commitment sought to enhance informational access to children about their rights and other matters related to justice in a language that is easily understood by all children irrespective of age, educational level or cultural or language background. It also aimed at informing the most vulnerable and marginalised children to be aware of their rights.

Malta committed to look into ways to reach vulnerable children and to provide them with the most relevant information in relation to their rights.
This initiative was led by the Ministry for Justice in collaboration with the Ministry for Social Policy & Children’s Rights and in close consultation with the Commissioner for Children’s Rights and the Legal Aid Malta Agency.

Although this initiative was discussed with CSOs during the initial workshop held on 30th November 2023, regrettably the lack of collaboration due to a dispute between Government and certain CSOs, hindered the joint implementation of this commitment, However, the Justice Ministry still continued with the implementation of this commitment in collaboration with the Legal Aid Malta Agency and the Commissioner for Children’s Rights.

In this regard, an online educational platform titled TEMI is being established as a key digital resource to support access to justice and rights-based education. This platform will offer a range of structured online courses that focus on children's rights and child-friendly justice. This platform is developed but its launching will be made in Q2/Q3 of 2026 when this will be available to the public.

The TEMI course content includes specialised courses within the Children's Rights thematic area, such as "Child-Friendly Justice," "Children's Rights in the Digital Environment – Key Challenges," and other related topics. These courses aim to enhance awareness and understanding of children's rights within the justice system.
In parallel, Legal Aid Malta Agency, in collaboration with the Commissioner for Children, has created child-friendly informational content to empower children with knowledge about their rights and help them understand justice processes. This partnership has produced a series of educational videos covering topics such as "The Rights of Children in Matters Relating to Justice" and "What is the Role of the Lawyer?" "What Does Justice Mean?" and "Understanding Children’s Rights." This content is currently available on the Legal Aid Malta website and will also be accessible through the TEMI platform (to be launched in Q2/Q3 2026), which will facilitate wider dissemination in a structured digital learning environment.

Moreover, a toolkit for professionals have been developed with tutorial materials on child friendly justice. This material is available both on the Legal Aid Agency website and can be accessible through the following links:

• Tutorial Material 1
• Tutorial Material 2

and also on the Commissioner for Children’s Rights website. The corresponding videos will be launched on the Temi platform in Q2/Q3 of 2026.

These initiatives directly support the goal of enhancing access to justice for children by providing accessible, age-appropriate, and rights-based digital tools, as outlined in Commitment 3.

COMMITMENT 4
YOUTH PROOFING MECHANISM

This commitment led by Aġenzija Żgħażagħ on behalf of Government, sought to establish a Youth Proofing Mechanism intended to give young people a voice in policy.

This initiative is guided by the National Youth Policy’s commitment to youth participation, and sought to embed youth perspectives into primary legislation, policies or strategies, proposed by the Government, that have an impact on young people.

The youth proofing mechanism was designed to serve as a platform through which young people and those who work for with and for them, can share their views on legislative and policy matters that impact young people’s lives. By enabling direct engagement with these processes, the mechanism ensures that the needs, concerns, and aspirations of young people are not only heard but also integrated into decision-making.

Aġenzija Żgħażagħ looked at examples from countries with similar mechanisms (such as France, Austria and some German States) as well as the European Commission’s Youth Check. This research helped in developing the framework for the Youth proofing mechanism which sought to introduce an impact assessment that considers the needs and aspirations of young people when policies and legislations are created.

The group tasked with developing a youth-proofing mechanism convened 5 times in person during 2024. These meetings were supplemented by online discussions and bilateral engagements facilitated by Aġenzija Żgħażagħ as needed. Civil society organisations involved to carry out this commitment were made of groups representing young people and those working with young people, namely, the Kunsill Nazzjonali Żgħażagh, the Maltese Association of Youth Workers, the Maltese Association of Youth Ministers, the Malta Youth Catholic Network, and the Kummissjoni Djoċesana Żgħażagħ Għawdex. Together, the group made substantial progress, and a final meeting to conclude its work was held in February 2025.

The proposed youth-proofing mechanism was designed to ensure that young people have a meaningful, structured, and ongoing role in shaping policies, strategies, and legislation that affect their lives. It will enable Malta to be upfront in Europe when discussing the Youth Perspective and Intergenerational fairness. The proposal rests on three main pillars:

• the establishment of a dedicated Youth Proofing Committee and Youth Task Force;
• the integration of youth considerations into the existing Impact Assessment Framework (IAF) for Primary Legislation; and
• the use of the Government Consultation Portal and the Karta Żgħażagħ App to secure broad-based youth feedback

The commitment to develop a robust youth proofing mechanism under Malta’s 4^th OGP National Action Plan was fully implemented with the collaboration of Civil Society. The youth proofing mechanism proposal was presented to the Cabinet of Minister for their consideration and subsequent approval for its implementation