Women in Sabah and Sarawak have less avenues to turn to for help when they encounter obstacles in life compared to their counterparts in the peninsular, Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) commissioner Ranita Mohd Hussein revealed today.

"And because of the geographical constraints, it's very difficult to get to women in the outlying areas," she said during a press conference to launch of Suhakam's report on Forums on Cedaw in Sarawak and Sabah in Kuala Lumpur.

The report is based on two forums on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw) held in Kuching, Sarawak on March 30 last year and in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah on April 2 last year.

Ranita said problems faced by women in the two East Malaysian states included 'practical problems' such as insufficient knowledge about women's rights.

"NGOs are working on its own. Unlike here (in peninsular) where the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development works closely with NGOs, East Malaysian NGOs have no link with the ministry," she said.

Awareness campaign

Addressing specifics, she said there was a need to establish the adequate, well-funded and safe shelter home for victims of domestic violence in Sabah and Sarawak.

"The government has a responsibility to protect women from violence and one method is to put in place a systematic and comprehensive response system, which includes the provision of shelter homes," she said.

Ranita said a successful campaign for awareness of women's rights in the East Malaysian states would require effective cooperation between NGOs and the state governments.

"This link would not only increase awareness but would also enhance the effectiveness of other programmes and activities that promote and protect women's rights," she said.

Noting that the collection of gender dis-aggregated data at the state level was still lacking, the commissioner said a more comprehensive system would have to be formulated for the data's collation.