2013 Asian Conference of Women’s SheltersAsian Network of Women's Shelter2-4 December, Taiwan
Challenges and Breakthroughs for Women’s Shelters in Asia
Using the law to combat domestic violenceIvy JosiahExecutive Director Women's Aid Organisation (WAO)www.wao.org.my [email protected] Twitter @womensaidorg @ivyjosiah
Today’s talk will be on: About Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO)
WAO’s Refuge/Shelter practice
How the law is used to combat domestic violence
WAO VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KND9ceoeF4A “
HERSTORY August 1982 - Malaysia’s first Refuge/Shelter for
battered women and their children
• The fundamental belief of WAO: no one deserves to be battered.
• We uphold the self-dignity of every human being in our society, both men and women
31 years later… Shelter to 120 women and 145 children
Telephone counselling to over 1,000 women
Face–to–face counselling to 100 women
Child Care Centre – 30 children per year
Drop In Centre for face to face counselling
WAO’s Refuge/Shelter
practice
Guiding principles
Believe the survivors
Ensure physical safety of victims/survivors - risk assessment
Adopt a No Blame approach
Empwer women from crisis to confidence
Guiding principles Reject ideologies that excuse or justify
men’s violence
Hold perpetrators responsible for the abuse
Perpetrators can choose to stop the abuse
Overall Work – the big picture
WE are inspired by women’s lived realities to work towards gender equality and justice
11
Women in Crisis
Seek Help from WAO
WAO Social
Workers Support & Empower Women
WAO Programme
Officers Document
Cases
Identify Laws & Policies that need Reform
Lobby Government to
Eliminate Discrimination Against Women
How the law is used to combat
domestic violence
The law and domestic violence Malaysia passed its Domestic Violence
Act in 1994 after 9 years of lobbying the government
It took another 2 years before the law was implemented in June 1996
Protest by women’s groups in 1996
The law encouraged women to report
By end 1997, almost one and half years after the law was put into action in June 1996, there was a 150% increase in police reports
The Malaysian DVA applies to all members of the family including the ex spouse
Police
Reports
Domestic
Violence
Rape
Incest
Abuse of
Domestic
Workers
Child
Abuse
Outrage
of
Modesty
(Molestati
on)
Sexual
Harassment
in the
Workplace
2000 3468 1217 213 56 146 1234 112
2001 3107 1386 246 66 150 1393 86
2002 2755 1431 306 39 123 1522 84
2003 2555 1479 254 40 119 1399 82
2004 3101 1760 334 66 148 1661 119
2005 3093 1931 295 37 189 1746 102
2006 3264 2454 332 45 141 1349 101
2007 3756 3098 360 39 196 2243 195
2008 3769 3409 334 unavailableunavailable 2131 unavailable
2009 3643 3626 385 unavailable 203 2110 unavailable
2010 3173 3595 unavailableunavailable 257 2054 unavailable
2011 3277 3301 342 78 242 1941 unavailable
2012 3488 2998 302 29 285 1803 unavailable
LAW REGULATES RIGHTS
A law validate DV survivors' experience
A law guarantees legal aid, protection and redress
A law hold perpetrators accountable
The DV law must: Prevent Protect Prosecute and investigate Punish Provide Redress
The 5 P’s of Due Diligence to Eliminate Violence Against Women
PREVENTPrevention includes measures taken by the State to stop VAW from occurring -awareness campaigns, training and education.
PROTECTProtection keeps the victim/survivor safe from present harm. This includes avoiding the re-occurrence of further violence and ensuring the victim/survivor receives adequate and timely services.
The 5 P’s of Due Diligence to Eliminate Violence Against Women
PROSECUTE AND INVESTIGATEInvestigation and prosecution are actions taken by the Government when it knows of VAW incidences. It allows victims/survivors to take steps to try to stop VAW without fear of repercussions.
PUNISHPunishment is something negative imposed on the perpetrator of VAW as a consequence of his/her having committed VAW.
PROVIDE REDRESSRedress is any form of compensation or reparations available to a victim/survivor of VAW. This could take different forms, from monetary compensation and apology to symbolic reparations.
A domestic violence law must not: Must Not force mediation – marriage
counseling
Must Not take away the decision from the woman
Must Not allow the perpetrator /father complete access to the children. Supervised access
3 components to the Law Substance of the law
Structure of the law
Culture of the law – attitudes of the police, the welfare, the courts, the hospital.
Tanya Brannan, Purple Berets
Working With the Police
Experiences of domestic violence complainants at the Police station Good Non judgemental
Informs her of her rights -protection orders
Asks her if she needs shelter
Gives her a number of an NGO in case she needs counselling
Bad Minimizes the
violence
Acts as marriage counsellor
Conducts little or poor investigation
The Bad Police – Plays on your fear
Do you want your husband in jail ah?
Good police response You were kept informed about the progress of the
investigation
All the witnesses are interviewed by the investigating officer
Phone calls to the investigating officer were returned in a timely manner
Felt that the investigating officer was concerned about your safety throughout the investigation
The Good Police – Cares for your safety Assessing Risk
Before the interview, investigating officer ask you if you had fears or concerns about reporting the crime or about prosecuting the perpetrator
Did the violence stop when the law intervened? Yes, in almost 70% of cases but only if
the police intervention was good
4 deaths die to domestic violence in 2013, red flags – warning signs were ignored
Legislation should
be implemented in the context of a comprehensive national action plan or strategy
provide for a budget to ensure its implementation
provide for the adoption of rules and regulations, and the creation of specialized institutions, including police, prosecutors and courts
provide for the creation of a specific institutional mechanism (eg multi-sectoral Task Force) and the collection of statistical data, including through involvement of the national statistical office
We believe that a world without domestic abuse is not just a dream, it is a possibility. Never doubt it – changing attitudes changes lives.
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