Partnering to help child domestic abuse survivors
An impactful collaboration between civil society and the private sector is the way forward to assist the government in responding to issues, including protection of child domestic abuse survivors, according to Deputy Women, Community and Family Development Minister Hannah Yeoh.
Yeoh, who earlier launched rights group Women Aids Organisation's latest report and public sector partnership, also revealed that a total of 26,314 child abuse cases were reported between 2013 and 2018...
An impactful collaboration between civil society and the private sector is the way forward to assist the government in responding to issues, including protection of child domestic abuse survivors, according to Deputy Women, Community and Family Development Minister Hannah Yeoh.
Yeoh, who earlier launched rights group Women's Aid Organisation's latest report and public sector partnership, also revealed that a total of 26,314 child abuse cases were reported between 2013 and 2018.
From the figure, she said 17 percent or over 4,000 cases were linked to children caught in a domestic dispute involving their parents and that the actual number of vulnerable children could be higher if taking into account possible unreported cases.
"The experience of witnessing that abuse is as traumatic as the victim herself who is at the receiving end of abuse," she said at a press conference in Kelana Jaya after launching WAO's "Where's the Child? The Rights of Child Domestic Violence Survivor" report and groundbreaking for its child care centre built in partnership with Real Estate & Housing Developers' Association Youth Malaysia (Rehda Youth).
On the part of the government, Yeoh said the Welfare Department is authorised to provide an Emergency Protection Order for domestic abuse victims within 24 hours of a report being lodged.
She said just last year the department's Talian Kasih hotline recorded 15,000 calls, including from children who are victims or witnesses of domestic abuse.
WAO executive director Sumitra Visvanathan said the main issue surrounding domestic abuse cases often lies with an imbalance of power, including between a parent and a child.
"Fundamentally, it is about the issue of power and control.
"It tends to be a situation where one person who has too much power asserts that power in a way to control another person," she said, adding that among the trigger factors identified included drugs and alcohol abuse.
"When it comes to the adult and child, clearly there is that power imbalance.
"That imbalance should be exercised in a way that seeks to protect the child rather than asserted in other ways to potentially harm the child," said Visvanathan.
Meanwhile, Yeoh also lauded the collaboration between WAO and Rehda Youth for the new child care centre in Selangor for child domestic abuse survivors.
"This is the excellent partnership needed between the private sector and NGOs," she added.
The project by Rehda Youth will adopt green design principles to maximise efficiency and reduce overall costs of operations for WAO, allowing more funds to be utilised directly for children under its care.
Meanwhile, the WAO report includes 21 cases detailing the experiences of children who either faced direct abuse or witnessed abuse from their mothers and fathers, as well as recommendations to relevant authorities in dealing with such cases.
