Gender Equality Malaysia Project #8346

Refuge for abused women in Malaysia

by Women's Aid Organisation (WAO)

Project Report | Sep 18, 2017
WAO Will Stand by You

By Sagita Paramalingam | Projects Officer

WAO will stand by you

Suvi is originally from a state called Johor in Malaysia. She was physically and psychologically abused by her husband ever since she married him, eight years ago. She was confined by her husband and his family with limited access to her phone since the violence started. One fine day, Suvi managed to gain the courage to tell her family regarding the abuses and asked them for help because she was in so much of distress and did not know what to do. Suvi’s sister contacted WAO from Singapore and asked for shelter and assistance on behalf of Suvi. Her family was afraid to provide her with accommodation because her husband is well connected with local authority and it would be very dangerous if he manages to locate where she is. There was even an incident where gangsters threatened the family with a machete in her family’s home.

One night, Suvi managed to escape the abusive home with her child by telling her mother-in-law that she was going to the shop nearby to buy some groceries, while her husband was out. That night, Suvi travelled to the capital state, Selangor and met WAO’s social worker at the police station. Suvi and the social worker encountered a speedbump at the police station when the Investigation Officer (IO) requested that she go back to her hometown, Johor to give her statement. This was when WAO’s social worker stepped in and emphasized to the IO, based on the Domestic Violence Act (DVA) in Malaysia, one could lodge a police report anywhere in the country, as well as receive medical attention and apply for an Interim Protection Order (IPO) for safety reasons.

With much persuasion, the IO from Selangor agreed and took her statement which would be shared with the police department in her home state, Johor. However, another hiccup occurred when there was no follow-up from the IO. The social worker contacted the police department and the IO was uncontactable, nor did he share the case with the police department in Johor.

WAO’s advocacy team stepped in to help Suvi when this happened. WAO sent official letters and contacted the D11 Principal Assistant Director ACP directly to lodge a complaint about the incompetency of the district police station. A few days later, the Johor district police contacted the social worker and Suvi managed to get the IPO from the Selangor court.

Suvi is now in the midst of filling for a divorce. WAO managed to identify a pro bono lawyer to assist her with her divorce proceedings in the Selangor state court. Suvi has received shelter from WAO and empowered herself to start working after all the hurdles she has faced. The criminal case is still under investigation. Suvi is so grateful to WAO because when her sister first made that call to WAO, Suvi had no idea that she and her child would ever leave that violent home and if they did, she was afraid of what might happen to her if her ex-husband found her. She told WAO, "the thought of never seeing my child or my family if something were to happen to me, was inimaginable."

WAO always believes that ‘there is hope’, and we will always strive to give hope to many more survivor women and children of violence in Malaysia.

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Jun 20, 2017
I'm Worth It!

By Sagita Paramalingam | Projects Officer

Moving Forward

Zara and her four children first came to sought shelter with WAO in 2014. She was badly beaten up by her husband. She ran to the nearby police station and was taken to Hospital Kuala Lumpur. Zara was refer to WAO by the hospital for shelter.

Zara has been married to her husband more than 10 years. They had four children aged 11, 8, 6 and 4 years old. Her husband kept to himself and always blamed her for anything that went wrong. Her husband accused her of not showing enough affection and care for him

The abuse started about 5 years ago when her husband’s business failed and he started to take drugs and alcohol excessively. The physical and verbal abuses became more intense over time. He would hit her with anything that was in his reach and he would also throw and break things around the house. He has even broken her ribs before after he physically abused her. Husband was very insecure and he started having affair.

Zara kept everything internally and never sought for help because she always blamed herself and did not know where to seek help from at that time. After seeking shelter in WAO, the social workers are helping her get birth certificates for her eldest daughter and youngest son. Her husband refuses to apply for the children. He also refused to renew her spousal visa as she is a foreigner in Malaysia, and she has been undocumented for a few months. Her children have not gone to school for 2 years and she worries about the children’s future.

After staying in the shelter for about two weeks, Zara and her husband got back together. Her husband promised her he will change and he promised to get all her children birth certificates. She was vulnerable and fell for his apologies and wanted to give him a second chance. After several months, Zara and her four children came back to WAO’s shelter because the violence had repeated. She and her children have been in and out of the shelter 10 times. She knew that she has had enough.

Zara is now staying independently and working in a hair salon. She was not the same person as before, the shy and timid person when she first came to WAO. She is now empowered and independent, she believes that she can do things by herself and does not blame herself anymore. She does not need to stay in fear anymore. She has found her self-worth and confidence, but most of all, she has empowered herself to tell her husband, ‘I’m worth it’ and walk away from the abusive home with her children.

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Mar 23, 2017
She said, ENOUGH!

By Sagita Paramalingam | Projects Officer

Empowerment activities

*Shanti was 19 years old when she travelled to Malaysia with hopes to seek a better life, away from the turmoil and genocide her ethnicity experienced back in her home country. Like many young girls from her village, travelling expenses and arrangements to Malaysia were often funded by prospective husbands that they were going to marry. That was their only means of escape from the callous lives they lived in.

Upon arrival to Malaysia, Shanti entrusted her fate onto a fellow villager, who ensured her assistance but married her off to another man with a dowry that she never saw a cent of. Her husband started abusing her soon after she was married off to him. Not long after her marriage, she found out she was pregnant.

During her pregnancy she endured not only abuse from her husband, but also from his friends. She was repeatedly raped and constantly sexually harassed by them. Her husband would never acknowledge her when she used to go to him with her cries and agony. She was financially distraught as she depended on her husband, and the safety of herself and her unborn child was in jeopardy. At breaking point, she was determined to have a better life. Shanti managed to find the courage to walk out of her house and go to the authorities.

Her case was classified under Section 51 (3), under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act. She was immediately placed in a safe home as a place of sanctuary. Her perpetrators were arrested. She was sent to WAO Refuge for further protection and a place to stay for her and her newborn.

During her stay at the Refuge, WAO assisted her with her emotional and psychological needs, as well as, assisted in providing care for her child who suffered a medical condition. She learnt various skills from the different activities conducted at the Refuge. Some of the activities were creative writing classes, beading classes and self-love workshops which took her mind away from the negative thoughts of her past and empowered her. WAO continued to support and provide her shelter, restorative care and psychosocial assistance throughout her stay in the Refuge. Shanti finally managed to seek justice and a sense of freedom when her husband and his friends were sentenced to prison.

Shanti and her son left under the resettlement program. They still keep in touch with the team of social workers of WAO. She vows to ensure her son receives the education he deserves. As for herself, she hopes that one day, she will have the opportunity to study law and advocate human rights to help many other girls who share the same fate as herself.

*Name has been changed to protect identity

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