‘intimate partner violence’ in law: NGO

O Current legislation has no provisions to protect unmarried women in a cohabiting relationship

PETALING JAYA: Intimate partner violence (IPV) should be recognised as a form of domestic violence, say women’s organisations.

Women’s Centre for Change executive director Loh Cheng Kooi said in Malaysia, there are a number of couples who cohabitate despite the assumption it is not a norm in Asian countries.

“Therefore, in such a situation of an intimate partner relationship, there is no black and white on how to act in the event of abuse or violence,” Loh said.

“Because there is no recognition of IPV per se, you have situations where a person is cohabiting with their partner and violence occurs.

“When that happens, the police help but it can be subjective,” Loh added.

“We should first accept IPVs in society and that violence occurs,” Loh said, adding a clause on cohabiting can be added to the

Domestic Violence Act (DVA).

“Therefore, if you are living together there has to be a few red lights and if domestic violence happens, the victim should have full protection under the DVA, which now has the interim protection order, the protection order and even an emergency protection order.”

On Jan 3, it was reported that a man had allegedly stabbed his girlfriend to death at a house in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur.

The Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) in a statement recently said the murder may seem like an isolated incident, but could in fact point to a broader trend that the killing of women is often the result of domestic violence.

WAO’s advocacy and communications officer Tan Heang-Lee cited a 2018 report by the United Nations, which revealed that 58% of female homicide victims were killed by their intimate partners or family members.

The report concluded that home is the most dangerous place for women.

“In Malaysia, there is no data on the number of women murdered by their partners because publicly available police statistics do not reveal the relationship between murderers and victims,” Tan said.

“Furthermore, murder cases involving intimate partners or family members are not simultaneously classified as domestic violence cases,” she said.

To stop such murders, Tan said the authorities must understand the context in which femicides take place, including the relationship between the murderer and victim.

“We need to understand the dynamics of domestic violence, which is seldom a one-off incident,” she said.

“By effectively tracking and monitoring repeated incidences of violence, we can identify and adequately respond to high-risk cases before they escalate to murder,” she said.

“We must also recognise that domestic violence involving boyfriends and girlfriends is just as serious and deadly as domestic violence involving married couples,” she said, adding that the lack of protection in the DVA for such persons leaves the victim without access to potentially life-saving protection orders.

“We must, therefore, amend the Domestic Violence Act to protect non-married couples as well.”