Domestic violence: Most victims career women
Published on: Monday, June 08, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: Most victims of domestic violence are professional women, said Sabah Women's Action-Resource Group (Sawo) President Winnie Yee."Most of them who seek assistance from us are teachers and senior officers," she said, adding that the main reason for the violence was due to their male partner being unable to fulfil their traditional role as primary breadwinner as they were unemployed.Yee explained that their male partners were unable to cope with the changes in gender roles therefore creating gender role conflict and in the sense of male entitlement and privilege.
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"They want to show authority and so they resort to violence," she said during the Seminar on Gender: Roles and Development here. Others, she said, include facing financial crisis especially when their husbands refuse to work, get involved in drugs or alcohol as well as lack of family and community support which usually occurs among rural migrants.Towards this end, she said they have been trying to spread the 'Violence Against Women' (VAW) campaign in rural areas and create a network with the various agencies to educate them on ways to support women who are faced with violence in their families. "For example, the Native Court…they are not even sure how to handle such problems and worst, some are not aware of the Domestic Violence Act. Therefore, they all require training," she said, adding that most people are against violence but then they often go quiet.
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That was why Yee said they organised various activities by providing opportunities for students to continue schooling and reduce the number of dropouts, offer skills training among youths, accessible and effective government services and protection for women and children as well as awareness programmes to curb early marriages and gender-based violence. "Early marriages especially those involving young girls below the age of 16 are considered statutory rape but nobody would speak about it in the kampungs as it is part of the 'adat'," she explained.
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Besides that, she said more than 80 per cent of rape cases involved young girls below the age of 15 and often, this have to do with date-rape and 'consensual sex'."We are targeting young people and we have organised various programmes and activities such as dating workshops among primary and secondary school students," she said, adding she hoped the Education Department would incorporate the programme as well. Apart from that, Yee explained they also place their main focus on the children of domestic violence victims."They are the silent and unseen witnesses of domestic violence and we need to try to break the cycle in order to prevent from carrying it forward into their adulthood," she added. Yee said that the public can reach them through their Sawo Helpline at 088-280200 that operates from Monday to Friday from 9am to 2pm providing practical, legal as well as financial assistance through phone or face to face counselling sessions. Later, Sabah Women Entrepreneurs and Professionals Association (Swepa) President Datin Jeanette Tambakau also presented her paper 'Barefoot Project: Swepa Experience' focusing on women's empowerment and transformation as well as rural community.The project was aimed to provide solar energy to a remote village with no electricity like in this case, 100 poor households at Kg Sonsogon Magandai in Kota Marudu through illiterate grandmother Tarihing Masanim.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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