\u2018Real increase in violence\u2019: What\u2019s behind rising domestic abuse\nrates reported in Southeast Asia?<\/p>\n
Experts say there is a need for governments to allocate resources to\nsupport the long-term recovery, rehabilitation and empowerment of\ndomestic violence survivors.<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR: A few months ago, Mira (not her real name) reached\nbreaking point.<\/p>\n
The 49-year-old mother of five from Shah Alam, Selangor, stood\nsobbing hysterically in her bedroom, holding a knife to her skin.<\/p>\n
Just moments earlier, her husband had loomed over her, brandishing a\nmachete, demanding the password to her phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just before the start of fasting for the day and I was\nscrolling through social media when he suddenly flew into a rage, and\naccused me of cheating on him,\u201d she told CNA.<\/p>\n
The accusation was followed by physical assault. Hysterical and\nexhausted by the mental toll of continuous violent abuse over the course\nof her 20-year marriage, Mira grabbed the knife in a desperate act of\nself-harm.<\/p>\n
Her husband, who is a fisherman, eventually wrestled the blade away,\nhanded her some money, and told her to go shopping for the festive\nseason.<\/p>\n
Instead, Mira went to the police. She sat outside the station for a\nfull hour before she finally walked inside and lodged a police\nreport.<\/p>\n
She was subsequently admitted to the hospital for three days of\ntreatment. She never returned home and today, she lives in a women\u2019s\nshelter with other victims of domestic violence.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told myself that enough was enough,\u201d she said. \u201cMy time with him\nhad to come to an end.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mira, who used to operate a cafe, feels she has been granted another\nchance at life. She compares her case against the recent high-profile\nnews in the country of a civil servant who was so severely beaten by her\nhusband that she suffered a miscarriage.<\/p>\n
The woman also reportedly suffered from a broken arm and broken ribs\nfrom her husband - whose violent history had left his previous wife in a\ncoma for five years - allegedly punching her in the stomach and using\nclothes hangers, a garden hose, a curtain rod and a broomstick to beat\nher.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really can\u2019t imagine what she is going through,\u201d said Mira.<\/p>\n
These cases paint a grim picture of wider regional statistics. While\ndata collection and tabulation methods vary significantly across\nSoutheast Asian nations, the underlying trend remains: Reported domestic\nviolence cases are climbing sharply.<\/p>\n
In Malaysia, the number of recorded domestic violence cases has\nclimbed in the past three years, rising from 5,507 in 2023 to 7,116 in\n2024, and 7,391 by 2025, according to media reports citing Women, Family\nand Community Development Minister Nancy Shukri.<\/p>\n
The National Commission on Violence Against Women in Indonesia\nreleased its 2025 annual report in March, revealing that gender-based\nviolence cases in the country rose by over 14 per cent last year from\n2024, to 376,529 cases.<\/p>\n
Almost 90 per cent occurred in the personal sphere, said the\ncommission, reinforcing that the home and intimate relationships remain\nthe most dangerous spaces for women.<\/p>\n
And the numbers may not be fully representative of the situation,\nsaid experts.<\/p>\n
\u201cReported cases do not tell us the full picture, because many\nsurvivors never report to the authorities at all,\u201d Nazreen Nizam,\nexecutive director of the Women\u2019s Aid Organisation (WAO), a Malaysian\nnon-governmental organisation (NGO) that deals with issues of domestic\nviolence, told CNA.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we see numbers rise, it may reflect a real increase in\nviolence, but it can also mean that more survivors are recognising\nabuse, feeling safer to seek help, or finding more channels to report,\u201d\nshe added.<\/p>\n
WHAT IS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND WHY DOES IT OCCUR?<\/p>\n
Domestic violence, as defined by the United Nations (UN), is a\npattern of behaviour used by one partner to gain control over another in\nan intimate relationship.<\/p>\n
Experts categorise domestic violence into several overlapping\ndimensions: physical, psychological, social, and financial, all of which\nserve to isolate and control the victim.<\/p>\n
Around one in four reported domestic violence cases in Malaysia last\nyear were against males, according to the country\u2019s women, family and\ncommunity development deputy minister. Reports citing Lim Hui Ying said\nthat out of 7,391 domestic violence cases reported nationwide, 1,961\ninvolved male victims.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbuse happens because domestic violence is about power and control,\u201d\nsaid Nazreen of WAO. \u201cSo \u2026 men can also be subjected to physical,\nemotional, psychological or financial abuse \u2026 but one of the biggest\nissues is that male survivors often face strong stigma when it comes to\nspeaking up.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added that social expectations about masculinity could make it\nharder for men to admit they are being abused or to seek help, making it\npossibly even more challenging for them than for women to come forward\nand report it.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany may fear shame, ridicule, disbelief, or not being taken\nseriously,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Still, the statistics are skewed towards female victims being the\nvast majority.<\/p>\n
Malaysian civil society organisation Sisters in Islam (SIS) provides\nlegal aid through its free helpline, \u201cTelenisa\u201d. It told CNA that many\nwomen reach out only after years, at the point where abuse has escalated\nto life-threatening physical injury or total psychological\nbreakdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe data from both national reporting and Telenisa cases makes clear\nthat domestic violence is not isolated. It is systemic, often hidden,\nand deeply tied to issues of power, access, and inequality,\u201d a SIS\nspokesperson said.<\/p>\n
They added that domestic violence was also a leading factor in\nmarital breakdown, ranking among the top three causes of divorce.<\/p>\n
Siti Aminah Tardi, executive director of the Indonesian Legal\nResource Center (ILRC), told CNA that domestic violence was still a\npervasive issue in the archipelago, noting that according to the 2024 UN\nPopulation Fund Indonesian Women\u2019s Life Experience Survey, one in five\nIndonesian women had experienced domestic violence within the past\nyear.<\/p>\n
She posited tha<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/real-increase-in-violence-whats-behind-rising-domestic-abuse-rates-reported-in-southeast-asia-1780012730", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }