KOTA KINABALU: Sabah sees a slight increase in domestic violence cases compared to last year, according to Sabah Community Development and People's Wellbeing Minister Datuk James Ratib.
Between January and October this year, the reported cases numbered 362, compared to 301 during the same period last year, based on statistics from the Sabah Police Contingent Headquarters Crime Investigation Department.
"This is very concerning because the implications or effects of violence on the victims are severe, both physically and mentally.
The effort to combat this violence is not impossible but requires commitment and responsibility from all Sabah residents.
Therefore, relevant parties, especially the Sabah Women's Affairs Department (JHEWA), need to implement more awareness programs to expose the public to the issue of violence against women," he said in a statement.
James' speech was read by his Assistant Minister Datuk Flovia Ng during the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women program, titled "Sleeping with The Enemy: Violence Against Women," held here yesterday.
He added that to ensure the effective and holistic implementation of the agenda to stop violence against women, the Ministry, through JHEWA, has also launched the We Eliminate Violence Against Women (WeVAW) campaign.
"WeVAW has been included in the Flagship Outreach Santuni Wanita program and will be implemented in 73 areas of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly (DUN) for the period from 2021 to 2025 under the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) plan," he said.
James also hoped that JHEWA would continue to strive to achieve these goals and remain consistent even after the flagship program ends. Present at the event were the Ministry's Permanent Secretary Maria Chong and JHEWA Director Haslina Ismail.