KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 — The Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) urged today the government to disclose statistics on deaths caused by domestic violence.
Calling for an increase in legal protection in its Valentine’s day message, the advocacy group said domestic violence homicide is predictable and preventable as there were always “warning signs”.
“We must know the prevalence of domestic violence homicide in Malaysia, and we urge the government to make available such statistics immediately,” it said in a statement.
It said that data in the US showed nearly one-third of women who were reported as victims of homicide were killed by an intimate partner, and added that up to 80 per cent of the time, the woman had been physically abused by the man before the murder.
WAO said the few cases it handled in Malaysia indicated similar findings.
“We must ask ourselves, did we recognise the warning signs? What actions were taken after the police reports were lodged? What protection was given to the women? Have we done enough to prevent these tragic endings?
“It is simple – increase legal protection services and homicides will decrease,” it added.
According to Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Rohani Abdul Karim more incidents of domestic violence have been reported since 2010.
In a parliamentary reply in October last year, Rohani said that 3,488 cases of violence and abuse were lodged in 2012 lodged, 315 more than in 2010.
