KUALA LUMPUR: The Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) has called on the government to implement emergency response measures to tackle domestic violence cases in the country amid the Covid-19 crisis.
The response, it said, should be coordinated by the National Domestic Violence Committee, a multi-stakeholder committee led by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry.
“Covid-19 and the Movement Control Order (MCO) has led to a spike in domestic violence and disrupted normal response systems.
“In Malaysia, Talian Kasih observed a 57 per cent increase in calls. Although not all of these calls are related to domestic violence, it is likely that domestic violence is one factor contributing to this spike.
“Meanwhile, WAO has observed a 44 per cent increase in WAO Hotline calls and WhatsApp enquiries from February to March 2020,” it said in a statement today.
In line with the World Health Organisation’s call for governments to address violence against women in national preparedness and response plans for Covid-19, WAO said the Malaysian government should urgently kickstart emergency response on domestic violence for the duration of the MCO.
It urged the National Domestic Violence Committee to immediately convene virtually, and as a starting point, to take six urgent actions as detailed below.
WAO said firstly, the government has to issue a clear standard operating procedure (SOP) for responding to domestic violence during the MCO and to ensure the SOPs are adhered to by all frontline officers.
Secondly, it wanted to ensure that survivors can obtain Interim Protection Orders and Emergency Protection Orders.
Thirdly, the government, it said, should publicise support pathways for survivors and fourth, to improve the availability of temporary shelters, and make them an essential service.
“This demands urgent attention, as domestic violence shelters are sorely lacking in Malaysia. International best practices recommend a minimum of one family place in a women’s shelter per 10,000 people, but Malaysia only has an estimated one family place per 72,538 people.”
Fifth, it said, is to ensure that financial aid reaches domestic violence survivors; and sixth, to allocate sufficient resources to ensure an effective emergency response.
“For example, Talian Kasih must be resourced with adequate staff in order to manage the notable increase in calls. Some survivors have reported that they had not been able to reach through to call operators possibly due to the high volume of calls.
“As the nation grapples with unpredictable times, we must be prepared to look out for those among us who are most at-risk.
“We would also like to acknowledge the multiple efforts undertaken by the Health Ministry, the Sexual, Women and Children’s Investigation Unit (D11) of the Royal Malaysian Police, Welfare Department, Selangor government and many other agencies and NGOs to mitigate the effects of violence on survivors during this time.”