Anything for victims of violence, sexual abuse in Budget 2018?
KUCHING: The women’s wing of Parti Keadilan Rakyat ( PKR) is asking the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development whether there is any additional support formulated to help victims of violence and sexual abuse in the coming Budget 2018 for a sustainable long-term support after the initial crisis report.
According to its national vice president, Voon Shiak Ni, it’s (abuse) the most disastrous circumstance that could ever happen to a girl or woman when their home has become a ‘dangerous place’ for them.
“The question that needs to be asked is ‘ what is next after reporting and the initial crisis support for the abuse victims,” she told a press conference here on Tuesday.
Voon said that reports of incestuous rape and sexual abuses in the family had been on the rise. Sarawak recorded the most number with 15 cases in the first nine months of this year, with five incest cases reported in the first two months, including a case where the victims were made sex slaves to the father, grandfather and uncles for years before the case was exposed.
She also noted the report by the Ministry of Woman, Family and Community Development that there was an increase of over 60 per cent in reported cases of domestic violence - from 5,796 cases in 2016 and 3,488 cases in 2012.
Of the 57,519 cases of violence against women reported between 2010 and March 2017, the ministry noted that 28,365 of the cases involved children as the victims.
“But the mind-boggling question is: how do we help them get out of this vicious circle of violence? Everyone wants to leave an abusive home but the question is - what is in place to help them after they have left the abusive home?”
Voon said providing shelters to the victims to cope with the initial crisis was not sufficient to help the victims to get out of the vicious cycle of violence as in some cases, the victims landed back in the abusive house because of the lack of sustainable support to start a new life.
“We have seen that the biggest fear faced by the victims is the unavailability of a safe place for them while they build their new life again.”
She said there was a need for the government to come up with a support system to enable the victims to start a new life without turning to the perpetrators for support and be forced back into the vicious circle of violence.
“The present One Stop Crisis Centre is only there to handle and cope with the initial crisis conditions and shelter homes which are now available but not for long-term stay.
“We would like to propose for the ministry to adopt a more holistic approach to address the problems faced by victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse such as the idea of a ‘second chance home’ as proposed in Western countries.
“The ‘second chance home’ is a group of homes or cluster of homes which not only provide a stable environment for victims but also a hub which provides ongoing support and empowerment.
“We cannot deny that many victims cannot get out of the vicious cycle because of the lack of resources and support. The initial stage to save the victims is only the beginning. The ministry still has a lot to do to help the survivors to move on,” she said.