often refer to as spousal abuse,with emphasis tended to be more women as victims,but it so include violence and abusive act between family members and it affect people of all races and classes.
The Statistic which are only the that the tips of iceberg show that many women and children come forward to get help.Undeniably,many women prefer not to report the violence because of factor stated below:
The longer the woman lives in an abusive relationship the harder it is to leave as the woman loses her
sense of worth and dignity along the way. This may cause her to have a very low self-esteem, and consequently contributes to her inability to leave. Other reasons may include her fear of the unknown and
uncertain future, her love for the spouse and the hope that the spouse will change for the better. These
women too are made to believe that they provoke the violence and that her children need their father, hence
an abusive father is better than no father.
C)ECONOMIC
In many cases involving domestic violence, husbands have made sure that their wives do not work even
though they are unable to provide for the family. This is a form of control over his wife. It becomes a problem for the woman because she cannot leave home, having no money and being unemployed. One of the other reasons why women stay is because they may have nowhere else to go. The children may be young and therefore she is unable to get a fulltime job as she has to take care of the children. She may feel bad that she cannot provide her children with the best food, shelter and security.
WHAT IS THE ACT TO PROTECT WOMEN FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?
The Domestic Violence Act (DVA)1994
In 1985, women’s groups started campaigning to create awareness of violence against women.
Women Aid Organisations(WAO)
WHAT ARE INTEGRATED APPROACHED TO OVERCOME THIS PROBLEM?
1. Besides civil and criminal remedies and procedures, at the ministerial level action plans are being
structured. The National Policy on Women Action Plan is one that responds to CEDAW. This plan was
endorsed by the Malaysian Cabinet in 1989 and one of the special sectors that have drawn concern and
active response is of course, violence against women. Positive and effective solutions to address the
problems have been carried out by raising public awareness and to bring about positive attitude changes.
2. The Ministry of Health has set up One-Stop Crisis Centres in all major hospitals to handle survivors
efficiently without having to go through much hassle queuing up with other patients.
3. A similar approach is being adopted by the Royal Malaysian Police Force in handling survivors of
violence relating to sexual crime and also domestic violence. A “One stop centre” has been setup in a
number of District Police Headquarters for victims of not only domestic violence but other criminal cases
too, where they are put in a special room to be attended to. The newly set up Victim Care Centres, have
conducive surroundings attended by trained police personnel who will facilitate and assist the survivor to
lodge reports and to further furnish information about his/her encounter. Initial counselling sessions will be
carried out by qualified counsellors. Referrals to appropriate agencies will be carried out accordingly.
4. They have the opportunity to be given an option whether to give evidence in the court room itself or
through a video link facility when they testify in court. Even though there is only one court in Kuala Lumpur
that has been equipped with such facility, the positive feedback from the public was very encouraging,
enough for the government to equip other courts with the same facilities.
5. The Department of Social Welfare, under The Ministry of Women, Family and Community
Development and related NGOs have carried out awareness campaigns periodically in the mass media but
it’s impact has been minimal and limited especially to the urban areas and the need to reach-out more widely is imperative. To address this issue, they have since in April 2002, begun a nationwide campaign through posters and billboards as the main source of medium. The posters were posted at various vantage locations for maximum coverage.
6. Another on-going programme launched by the Department of Women’s Development under the same
ministry is a campaign known as Wave (Women against Violence). This programme’s major concern is to
educate the public about their rights, the law and procedures governing them and also the different forms of abuse that are prevalent in society. It also provides information on options on how to deal with the situation when it occurs. Recently, the department has recruited, vetted and trained 388 volunteers nationwide to help these battered women.
7. The National Social Policy was recently launched. It is a holistic approach to incorporate physical,
emotional and intellectual prowess in the race to attain economic development. The Social Welfare
Department is one of the main referral resources. They provide shelter for abused women and to-date there
are a total of 28 safe houses run by the Welfare Department. These facilities are adequately equipped to
ensure the comfort and safety of the victims and their children.
OTHER PROGRAMMES DEVELOPED
There are other programmes developed by the various organizations such as follows.
1. Good parenting training – aimed at improving the emotional bonds between parents and their children,
encouraging parents to use consistent child-rearing methods and helping them with the necessary skills to
develop self-control in bringing up children. These programmes are on-going and being conducted by various organisations both government and non-government.
2. The non-governmental organizations are actively keeping abreast with these issues. There are also
similar programmes carried out by them, such as AWAM (All Women against Violence in Malaysia) and
WAO (Women’s Aid Organisation). They have been very active, vocal and work hard to combat this menace.They also provide counselling; conduct training for trainers and organize seminars and workshops to enhance knowledge and awareness.
3. The Islamic Religions Department has set up temporary shelters for Muslim survivors of domestic
violence throughout Malaysia. They also provide legal and counselling services to their clients.
