Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Women’s Action Resource Group (Sawo) said many women in Sabah, especially in rural areas, still cannot get proper help and protection from domestic violence.
“It has been 40 years since Sawo started in Sabah, but progress is so slow in making sure women get justice and protection,” Sawo Vice President Jollify Daniel said at a forum on Saturday.
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“Women themselves must fight to help other women,” she said.
The forum, called Know Your Rights: Women Empowered, Community Prosperous, was jointly organised by Telenisa and Sawo.
Telenisa is a free legal advice service on matters related to issues related to Shariah Islamic Family Law, such as divorce, polygamy, alimony of wife and children, matrimonial property and others.
Data gathered by Sawo in rural areas from 2013 to 2016 found that out of every 100 rural women they talked to, 73 had experienced some kind of domestic violence … from being beaten, having their money controlled or being mentally abused.
“The biggest problem is that new laws to protect women and children are not working properly in rural areas. There is not enough money to train staff and too few officers to help.
“Many rural hospitals do not have One-Stop Crisis Centres, there are not enough safe houses for women to escape to and too few officers to catch abusers,” she said.
She shared a story of a young girl who called Sawo for help because she was scared her stepfather would rape her.
“We alerted the welfare officer and called the police in that area. But by the time they responded, the girl had already been raped. She had to run all the way to Kota Kinabalu because there was no protection where she was. It takes three to four hours by car to reach Kota Kinabalu from her place,” she said.
Jollify said violence at home often goes unreported because it happens behind closed doors with no one to see it.
“When Sawo volunteers went to villages and asked women if they were okay, most said yes at first.
“But when we asked more questions, like whether their husbands gave them money or if they were being hurt, we found out the truth was very different,” she said.
She said Sawo has been fighting violence against women since 1986 and helped push for laws to protect women. The group has held hundreds of talks in villages and with government agencies for over 40 years.
“Sawo has stepped in to watch important court cases, including helping deaf and mute victims and stopping child marriages after rape.
“There was one case where we stepped in when an underage rape victim was asked to marry the man who raped her. Sawo spoke up and said this cannot happen.
Because we made noise, the case went to appeal and he was charged,” she said.
