Battles are never won through solo endeavours. Cooperation is needed to ensure victory. And championing human rights is no less a 'battle', one that requires the support of everyone across the board.

In this regard, defending women's rights vis-a-vis abuse, be it domestic or sexual is not an effort exclusive to women's groups only, which however seems to be the case with Malaysia.

Time and again it has been observed that fighting for women's issues has been a task that often ends up with a 'lot to be desired'.

One example is the Domestic Violence Act (DVA) 1994, which women's group Awam (All Women's Action Society) has likened to a 'toothless tiger'.

It took women's groups 10 years to lobby for the DVA and when it was passed in 1994, Malaysia stood proud as the first country in the Asia Pacific region to pass a specific law on domestic violence.

The establishment of the DVA 1994 was a great achievement for the Joint Action Group Against Violence Against Women (JAG), the indefatigable group that had painstakingly lobbied for such a protection for women.

JAG comprising Awam, Women's Aid Organisation, Women's Centre for Change, Sisters in Islam and Women's Development Collective were confident that the DVA 1994 would be the 'saviour' to survivors of domestic violence.

Sadly, their hopes soon turned to frustration when a decade later JAG realised that the country showed no seriousness in adopting a streamlined practice among its agencies in dealing with domestic violence cases.

To worsen the situation, agencies namely the police, welfare department and hospitals who are involved in handling domestic violence cases had not undergone formal training on domestic violence.

A chasm shaped among staff of the above agencies in displaying sympathy and empathy to survivors of domestic violence. Instead, what came about was an ambience where domestic violence was relegated to the context of personal squabble between wife and husband, barring outside interference.

To aggravate the already ailing situation, the agencies were quick to blame the women for 'prompting' domestic violence. Some of these agencies went insofar as to rebuke the women for not 'giving in' to their husbands and for being disobedient. In short, a warped belief surfaced that women deserved to be 'taught' by their male partners.

Change is crucial

Awam volunteer lawyer Pushpa Ratnam said the loopholes in the DVA were responsible for the still rampant cases of violence in homes against women and children.

The Malay Mail on Aug 15 quoted Pushpa as saying that one of the loopholes is that at present domestic violence is currently read under Section 323 of the Penal Code which defines "voluntarily causing hurt" or Section 506 which states "imposing threat to cause death or grievous hurt".

She said the DVA should be recognised as an act of a specific crime under the Penal Code.

The other 'defect' pertains to the definition of domestic violence which only complies with abuse of physical violence. Awam points out that it should include psychological, mental and emotional violence as these are the true and crippling form of domestic violence and take a much longer time to heal.

The other 'loophole' concerns the enforcement of the interim protection orders (IPOs). Awam urged the authorities to urgently enforce the IPOs. The IPOs issued by the magistrates' courts would only take effect when served on the offender by the OCPD (district police chief) where the offender resides. Awam said there had been many cases where victims of domestic violence supposedly protected by the IPOs were still being harassed by their abusers over a long period of time.

The inconsistencies surrounding the DVA 1994 have become stumbling blocks to its effective implementation. For example the IPO in some states includes the children and in some other states it does not. There is a situation where obtaining an IPO involves different processes in different states.

Last year 3,101 cases of violence were reported to the police, compared with 2,555 cases in 2003 and 2,755 in 2002. Pushpa pointed out that eight out of every 10 women who turned to Awam for support after enduring violence had either attempted suicide or contemplated it.

She said a paper concerning amendments to the DVA has been presented by the non governmental organisations to Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of legal affairs, Radzi Sheikh Ahmad on Aug 1.

Pushpa added that the NGOs also planned to meet Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to present their case.

Incidentally Abdullah, who is also Internal Security Minister was quoted by New Straits Times on July 9, 2004 as saying that the government was always sensitive and concerned about the cases of domestic violence and has adopted a transparent attitude in handling such cases.

He said directives and circulars on the issue of domestic violence were regularly issued, adding that the government and police viewed seriously all cases of domestic violence.

Abdullah said since the DVA 1994 was gazetted, the police had taken proactive measures in dealing with domestic violence survivors. Among the steps taken by the police included conducting in-service training for its officers and assistant investigation officers who handled such cases.

So much assurance including that by the Prime Minister yet such meagre translation of the hopes once offered by the DVA 1994.

No more lip service please!

In a knee-jerk reaction to Awam's call for a more holistic DVA and the necessary amendments, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Jalil blamed the lackadaisical attitude of enforcement agencies in enforcing the law as the main reason or the ineffective implementation of the DVA.

Shahrizat told the Malay Mail recently that the law was good as it was and that it was the implementation that left much to be desired. She admitted that her ministry received complaints on the implementation of the Act particularly the enforcement of the IPO.

She said the ministry had set up a technical committee headed by its legal adviser Ahmad Razif Mohd Sidek to look into these problems. Shahrizat said feedback from the public was welcomed as the ministry wanted to ensure that the implementation of the DVA achieved its desired results.

She added that a meeting with the Attorney-General would be held to determine how best amendments to the DVA can be made, hoping that these amendments could be finalised by the end of the year.

Shahrizat's concern while much welcomed smacks of hypocrisy. If indeed the enforcement of the DVA was a major problem as was known to this minister, then what made her not create a fuss over this issue much earlier on? Why the typical mindset of a politician that 'answer not until asked'?

What more tragic events could the minister be waiting for before going to town with her so-called dissatisfaction over the poor show of attitude by enforcement agencies in enforcing laws on DVA?

Perhaps it is best if JAG takes Shahrizat's latest concern over the issue of DVA with spoonfuls of salt. Whilst it is comforting to note that the minister herself is unhappy with the progress of the DVA, it is no less unsettling to realise that issues affecting women have yet to be taken seriously by the government.

Otherwise how does one explain the glaring loopholes exhibited by the DVA, which have conveniently gone unnoticed by the government for 11 years running?

Every agency involved in enforcing the DVA provisions should be able to withstand constructive criticism and not retaliate defensively, as did the police in response to Shahrizat's claim of the lackadaisical attitude of the enforcement agencies.

Federal Deputy CID chief Datuk Mohd Nawawi Ismail in responding to Shahrizat's comments said on the contrary the police have always viewed cases of abuse against women and children seriously and never shirked their responsibility in enforcing the Act. He cited the creation of a large pool of specially trained female officers to investigate such cases.

He said the police were aware of the need to strictly enforce the IPO but were bound by the order spelt out by the issuing court.

It would do the police good to not stereotype domestic violence as strictly a women' issue although it is the women who form the majority as survivors of domestic violence. The police should take the initiative to gender sensitise its police force, to create a holistic understanding of issues of violence affecting not just women, but also men. Male police officers must also be exposed to cases of domestic violence and be trained to handle such cases objectively, with no semblance of prejudice.

Living on hope

When the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Penal Code (PC) and Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) announced recently that it is considering amending the PC and CPC to take into account the varying forms of domestic violence, it gave hope to not just JAG but to womenfolk in general.

Radzi said domestic violence could get its own separate section in the PC, criminalising not just physical assault but also sexual, emotional, mental and financial abuse.

Should they materialise, the amendments will broaden the definition of domestic violence and provide for stricter punishment based on the nature and severity of the abuse.

Until that happens, JAG and its fellow women can only 'live' on hope, hoping against hope that Abdullah's government will 'walk its talk' in providing the necessary protection for women and stretch its motto of Cemerlang, Gemilang, Terbilang to encompass a just and safe Malaysia for women.

JJ RAY started her career with a mainstream publication. A non-conformist, she soon saw the barriers that went up whenever, through her writing, she tried to make the world a home for one and all.