Domestic violence - ministry urged to hold public awareness and education programmes

A couple walks in Bukit Bintang. In 2012, one divorce was filed every 10 minutes. ― Picture by Choo Choy May
KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 ― Civil servant Jamilah Baharuddin (not her real name) and her husband divorced in 2012 after 12 long years of conflict with his family who did not approve of their marriage. The 35-year-old woman, who earns about RM6,500 a month, says they likely would not have split up if she wasn’t working because she would have been forced to rely on her husband to support her and their three children financially. “That’s one of the reasons why a lot of Malay women in rural areas are scared to step forward and get a divorce when they are abused ― they can’t survive without their husband’s assistance,” Jamilah told The Malay Mail Online recently. The number of divorces in Malaysia has more than doubled in just eight years from 2004. In 2012, a whopping 56,760 divorces were recorded, which is equivalent to a marriage breaking down every 10 minutes. According to statistics provided by the Syariah Judiciary Department Malaysia (JKSM), the number of Muslim couples getting divorced rose by 2.3 times from 20,916 in 2004 to 47,740 in 2012, and to 49,311 last year … for more, go to http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/one-divorce-in-malaysia-every-10-minutes#s8Zj1BYrP26B5IcF.97

Domestic violence - ministry urged to hold public awareness and education programmes

Domestic violence is found to be the main cause of divorces in Malaysia and the problem can be checked with regular public family development programmes.

The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry is therefore urged to help raise awareness on the problem by organising nationwide roadshow programmes.

“The problem is everywhere, in both rural and urban areas. Provide free counselling to families afflicted by domestic woes,” Gerakan Deputy Speaker Syed Abdul Razak Alsagoff said.

“The federal government, namely the ministry, must identify and provide financial support to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that are genuinely contributing to nation-building.

“Telenisia, a legal aid clinic run by Sisters in Islam (SIS), is one such NGO that provides help to those facing marital break-ups,” he added.

He said the ministry could provide financial support to such NGOs and leverage on their human resources and networking to help “raise a happier society”.

The statistics is only for up to 2012 ... it should be much higher today

Syed Razak, who is Gerakan’s nominee to contest N.37 Bukit Lanjan in the coming 14th General Election (GE14), said “a happier society is a more productive society”.

“Working with NGOs and elected representatives to organise free public seminars and programmes aimed at families should be effective in reducing domestic violence and divorce rates.

“It is all part of education and raising awareness on why domestic violence should be eradicated, and why divorce should be the last option for troubled relations. Those facing problems can also be counseled to find solutions,” he added.

This is a news report on domestic violence as posted by The Star Online:

"Telenisa: Domestic violence main cause for divorce

NATION
Friday, 9 Mar 2018
7:24 AM MYT
by sheela chandran

Women are becoming more aware of the constitution and are now standing up for their rights,” said Sisters In Islam Advocacy, Legal Services and Research manager Shareena Sheriff .

PETALING JAYA: Domestic violence is the main cause for divorce among women who sought help from Telenisa, a legal aid clinic run by Sisters in Islam (SIS).

Up to 24% of the divorce cases handled by Telenisa last year were due to domestic violence.

Psychological abuse remained the most cited form of domestic violence with up to 38%, followed by physical abuse at 30%.

Other forms of domestic violence reported to Telenisa included financial abuse (12%), child abuse (8%) and marital rape (2%).

“Women are becoming more aware of the constitution and are now standing up for their rights,” said Sisters In Islam Advocacy, Legal Services and Research manager Shareena Sheriff during the launch of the 2017 Telenisa statistics and findings.

The event was held in conjunction with International Women’s Day yesterday.

Last year, Telenisa also recorded an increase of women initiating divorce through fasakh – a method of divorce initiated by Muslim women and granted through a court order – from 62 in 2016 to 137.

“We believe the rise in the number of clients seeking divorce is because women are more confident.

“The surge in clients can also be attributed to social media channels, with the launch of Telenisa’s Facebook page, mobile legal clinics and various awareness programmes,” she said.

However, many women, she said, were often frustrated by the justice system.

“Many of the cases that Telenisa handles get caught at the Syariah Court level for years, causing and often prolonging unnecessary trauma to the women,” said Shareena.

While most of Telenisa’s clients fell under the income bracket of between RM2,501 and RM5,000, she said 15% earned RM5,000 and above.

“Many women, including educated women with a high earning power, undergo problems in their marriage.

“Our findings prove that marital issues can be found within all walks of life,” said Shareena, adding that Telenisa clients were mostly from the Klang Valley."

WEDNESDAY, 18 NOVEMBER 2009
Divorce statistics in Malaysia
It’s an oft-cited “statistic” (at least in Western countries): 1 in 2 marriages end in divorce. It’s a result of the weakening of the “traditional” family unit. People are more casual about their romantic relationships, which leads to lack of commitment to see through a lasting marriage.
How true is it though? Or more appropriately, does it apply to Malaysia? Divorce as a topic has been in the news in the past few weeks. We have read about a growing concern about the local divorce rate. We discovered that one of the state governments has a small but successful program to sponsor a second honeymoon for couples thinking of heading to divorce. Based on the success of that program, they were considering expanding the program. Then we heard of another proposal for enrolling husbands in some sort of grooming course to better their appeal to their wives ... for more, go to http://lothaq.blogspot.my/2009/11/divorce-statistics-in-malaysia.html

N.37 LET BUKIT LANJAN SOAR WITH SYED ABDUL RAZAK ALSAGOFF