By Charlene Murray | A Safe Haven For Jila
Rebuilding one’s life after a period of crisis can be difficult, more so daunting. At Women’s Aid Organisation, the provision of safe havens in the form of shelters are the core of our services, and perhaps the biggest impact on a woman and her family in times of crisis, in times when all doors seems closed.
Jila (pseudonym) was a migrant domestic worker who experienced abuse, sexual assaults and rape. In a foreign country with lack of support of family or friends, migrant domestic workers are often alone and fragile in the system which prohibits them from leaving their domestic servitude and keeping in contact with any form of support. The solitude can be deafening especially when their rights have been violated.
In Jila’s situation, the sexual assaults were continuous and almost routined, perpetrated by her male employer when the mistress of the house was away. The ordeal became increasingly unbearable when those sexual assaults eventually turned into rape. Jila had enough and wanted out. With the help of her employer’s neighbor, Jila packed her small bag of belongings, escaped and headed to a police station to report the gross misconducts of her employer. Her embassy was notified and through that, they identified WAO’s refuge as a safe home for Jila during the course of case investigations.
Jila was assigned a social worker who assisted her through her case management document preparations, the various statements she had to give at police stations where at every juncture, had to recount and recall her abuse in detail, thus reliving the incidents as if it were yesterday. Throughout her stay in WAO’s refuge, Jila attended psychotherapy to ensure her mental and emotional state was in check.
Jila is a strong young woman. The ordeal did not take months, but years and in the midst of case investigations, Jila was prompted on various accounts by the perpetrator’s family to accept cash settlements to end investigations, as well as told that the case may not yield a positive outcome in her bid for justice. Yet Jila persisted and was steadfast in her resolution to ensure her perpetrator was served the sentence he deserved, so to ensure other women will not fall victims to his advances, and also to ensure other domestic workers could draw experiences from her tenacity in seeking justice.
During her stay at the refuge, apart from emotional support, court support and case interventions, WAO assisted her with safe job placements to ensure Jila felt empowered by the ability to earn and save money so that she didn’t have to go back to her country empty handed. The ability to work and earn and be in a safe space altogether gave Jila a renewed hope. She began to be more cheerful and positive, as well as saw disappointments as challenges. With support and active intervention of her social worker, Jila’s case finally came to a close after 2 years. The perpetrator was sentenced to prison and charged for rape and Jila is now able to return to her country.
Throughout Jila’s long stay in the refuge, the social workers and staff learnt a great deal about how active listening, continuous emotional support and empowerment played a big part in ensuring a client’s wellbeing. The most important part of the whole process is ensuring a client centered approach is adopted at all times in safe spaces, and to possess an unwavering commitment towards ending violence against women.
By Sagita Paramalingam | Project Officer
By Sagita Paramalingam | Projects/Fundraising Officer
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