Casting Off the Shroud: Combating domestic violence against women
Security, warmth, a refuge from the elements and the outside world – such are the terms most
commonly associated with the concept of ‘home’ across cultures. Confinement, oppression and
violence – the dark side of the home has also made itself apparent to many, especially women,
around the world. While women have made great strides fighting for their rights, often flying in
the face of the received values, laws and politicians of the day, one of the hardest battles facing
them has been within the home. Domestic violence is one of the most insidious forms of violence
against women, and is an issue which is often shrouded in silence and cloaked with societal
shame..
Ending Violence against Women: From Words to Action, a 2006 study of the SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations, is highly cognizant of the fact that domestic violence is the most
common form of violence suffered by women all over the world.1 A comprehensive study of the
different forms of violence against women, Ending Violence against Women argues strongly for
the importance of a holistic view when considering violence against women. While domestic
violence might seem on the surface to be a private affair, inflicted by one individual upon the
other, the study highlights the crucial role the state, culture and other social structures have to
play in creating the conditions for such violence to occur.
If laws are an expression of state power, the inefficacy or lack of laws surrounding
domestic violence is then an expression that the state is powerless in preventing domestic
violence, and hence fails to discourage perpetrators. Laws also help to make the issue public,
bringing it out into the open and facilitating debate. Asian societies are typically wont to treat
domestic violence as a private matter which lies beyond the jurisdiction of the state, thus
effectively closing off any opportunities for substantial discussion and silencing voices on the
subject.
Effective laws and their enforcement are clearly the starting point to stop this rampant
violation of women’s human right to be free of all kinds of gender-based violence, whether it is
rape perpetrated as a weapon of war or sexual harassment at the workplace. But to stem violence
against women more comprehensively, varied initiatives are needed to attack the problem from
all fronts. We need to take a holistic approach that uses legal strategies together with public
education and support services. Only when such an all-round approach is taken, can we, for
example, remove deep-seated traditional attitudes that promote violence against women.
While I will be highlighting a number of examples from Singapore later in my paper
which I hope you all will find cogent to the subject, I would like to stress that a change in
mindsets is essential for the success of laws and initiatives against domestic violence. Even
should laws be in place, the lack of judicial or political will to enforce them, which is often
buttressed by prevailing patriarchal values, renders them impotent.
While India’s 2006 law against domestic violence was hailed by many as a landmark
piece of legislation, women’s rights activists were quick to point out that attitudes towards
domestic violence still needed to be changed. The chilling results of a survey by the International
Institute for Population Studies illustrated that 56% of Indian women felt that wife beating was
justified under certain circumstances. When women themselves feel that wife beating is
1
Ending Violence against Women: From Words to Action, United Nations: United Nations, 2006, p. 43.
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permissible, the battle is lost before it has even begun.2 Therefore, it is of utmost importance that
we work to raise consciousness among victims, and women in particular, of their rights to a life
free of domestic violence.
Hoisting the flag: Awareness-raising on multiple levels
Campaigns on both the local and global levels are important for creating a favourable
environment for debate. I highlight here two examples of global campaigns which have been
successfully applied on a local level.
The White Ribbon Campaign
The White Ribbon Campaign, which seeks to raise awareness on violence against women by
men and began with a small group of men in Canada in 1991, has ballooned to become an
international initative. What is particularly encouraging about such an initiative is that it is by
men, and targeted at men.
The Body Shop’s ‘Stop Violence in the Home’ campaign
I understand that ‘Stop Violence in the Home’, a global campaign run by The Body Shop, just
reached India recently on 12 September (2007). It has tied up with Muskaan, an Indian NGO
which will use a three-pronged method of education, support and protection to combat domestic
violence. The Body Shop’s engagement of local NGOs is, I feel, a key means of engaging the
community and ensuring that these campaigns indeed reach their target audience and travel
beyond the initial flurry of media hype.
It is through the success of similar campaigns and efforts at outreach that laws on
domestic violence can be consistently upheld and firmly applied, without pointing at culture or
tradition as an excuse for impunity from the law.
Laying down the law: Legal strategies
With the above in mind, I would now like to speak on the specifics of laws against domestic
violence and their pratice, illustrated with examples from Singapore. Enacting necessary laws
and enforcing them effectively will send a clear message that violence against women will not be
tolerated.
According to the 2002 World Report on Violence and Health by the World Health
Organization (WHO), 10% to 69% of women in 48 population-based surveys from around the
world reported being physically assaulted by an intimate male partner at some point of their
lives3. 40% to 70% of female murder victims were killed by their husbands or boyfriends, often
during an ongoing abusive relationship.4
‘India Tackles Domestic Violence, 26 October 2006, BBC News.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6086334.stm
2
3
Fact Sheets on Intimate Partner Violence, World Report on Violence and Health, Geneva: World Health
Organization, 2002.
http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/media/en/562.pdf
4
Ibid. The studies are from a range of countries referred to in the report.
2
In a parallel assessment, the UNIFEM-commissioned report stated that only 45 countries
have legislation protecting women against domestic violence, of which many are not regularly
enforced especially during periods of conflict.5
Considering these numbers, I think there is clearly a strong need to speed up the
implementation of national laws that adequately protect women in all countries from domestic
violence. And where adequate laws are already in place, steps must be taken to ensure that these
laws can be used effectively by women to protect themselves from abuse.
In moving legal reform, consideration should be given to implementing laws and
procedures that provide for protection orders with simple procedures to obtain and enforce them
if the orders are breached. Legal and procedural rules should also make it easy for a victim to file
a police report and get a medical examination for injuries.
Dealing with domestic violence in Singapore
I would like to bring your attention to the state of affairs in Singapore concerning domestic
violence. A one-stop counter run by the Family Court of Singapore established in 1996 that deals
with family disputes has played a very significant role in assisting victims of domestic violence.
The Court set up the one-stop counter to manage family violence. It receives applications for
protection orders, provides professional counselling, links applicants to services such as free
legal advice and free medical examinations, and makes referrals to crisis shelters and welfare
agencies in the community.
This is just one example from which I think other countries might draw on Singapore’s
experience. The 1996 amendments to Singapore’s Women’s Charter are also instructive.
Singapore’s legal provisions on domestic violence are found mainly in the Women’s Charter,
although all cases of domestic violence where hurt is caused or threats are uttered are also
criminalized under the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code. The amendments to the
law took place against a background of a changing society which was gradually becoming more
open to addressing such issues publicly, and the passing of the amendments points towards the
recognition by the state and the larger community that domestic violence is a problem which
needs to be dealt with nationally, and not just at the individual level.
Singapore’s legislation on domestic violence
The amended Women’s Charter came into effect in 1997 to provide wider coverage of protection
to victims of domestic violence. For example, the definition of family violence has been
expanded to include intimidation, continual harassment, or restraint against one's will. Also,
unlike before the amendment, former spouses can now apply for protection orders, which are less
costly and simpler in procedure than injunction proceedings.
In addition, the new Section 65 of the Women’s Charter continues to give power to the
Court to issue a Personal Protection Order (PPO) – an order stopping a family member from
committing family violence against the protected person – on the principle of “balance of
probability” rather than the principle of proving one’s case “beyond reasonable doubt” that
“family violence has occurred or is likely to occur”. This is a lower standard of proof and makes
it less difficult for a complainant to secure protection.
5
Rehn, Elisabeth and Sirleaf, Ellen Johnson , Women, War and Peace, p 15.
3
Under the new Section 65(5), when making a PPO, the Court can also order the
perpetrator, victim and/or family members of a victim to attend counselling or any other related
programme such as a rehabilitation or recovery programme for perpetrators or victims in trauma
respectively. Attendance is compulsory, and non-compliance can constitute a contempt of Court.
Project SAVE (Substance Abuse Violence Elimination), which was launched in March 2002, is
one of these programmes run by the Family Court itself. Under the project, counsellors try to
help alcoholic abusers wean themselves off their alcohol addiction, and at the same time address
issues relating to their violent behaviour.
Other additional conditions that the Court can attach to the PPO include the grant of
exclusive right of occupation of the shared residence to the protected person. With the new
Section 66, a victim who is afraid that the abuser will become even more violent after knowing
of a PPO application can apply for an Expedited Order (EO). An EO – which has the same effect
as a PPO - can be made in the perpetrator’s absence and will take effect once the EO is served on
the perpetrator. But it will only be granted if the Court finds that there is an "imminent danger"
of family violence being committed.
The Charter also provides for effective enforcement: anyone who disobeys an EO, PPO
or a Domestic Exclusion Order (DEO) made against him or her can be arrested without a warrant
by a police officer and charged in the criminal court. With the amendments, greater penalties are
also meted out. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine not exceeding $2,000 or
imprisonment for up to 6 months, or both, if it is a first offence. The fine and possible
imprisonment term about doubles for a second or subsequent offence.
Around the world: Examples of international laws against domestic violence
As a member of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination of against
Women, I have seen the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women being put into practice, and each session finds the authorities from state parties being
questioned rigorously, among other issues, on the issue of domestic violence, which the
Committee takes very seriously.
The Optional Protocol to the Convention is also another tool which gives private
individuals recourse to justice should all domestic avenues be exhausted. This is particularly
useful in states where domestic violence is accepted as a cultural norm, and where even members
of the judiciary might view domestic violence as a wholly private matter. In the case A.T. vs.
Hungary, where a Hungarian national, Ms A.T., was suffering from physical abuse and threats
inflicted upon her by her common-law husband, the inadequate protection afforded to Ms. A.T.
by the Hungarian government prompted her to bring her case to the CEDAW Committee, which
ruled in her favour. More details of the case are available on the official CEDAW website.
Even where a state is party to Optional Protocol to CEDAW, there still needs to be steps
taken to ensure that women are actually willing to approach the domestic authorities in the first
place. This of course means that women need to be educated on their legal rights and the
available avenues for redress, as well as the willingness and ability of the authorities to extend
assistance to these women.
By the book: Legal education
From studies conducted in various countries, the World Report on Violence and Health found
that in more traditional societies wife beating is “largely regarded as a consequence of a man’s
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right to inflict physical punishment on his wife”6. Legal redress often eludes the victim when law
enforcers and those working within the judicial process also adopt such misguided social values.
To help cast off such social attitudes and practices that foster violence against women,
public education with a gender-sensitive human rights perspective becomes a crucial tool. The
agenda should include not just domestic laws but also international laws such as the CEDAW,
international and regional declarations, principles and guidelines relating to the human rights of
women.
Such a campaign would ideally target all levels of society, including law enforcement
officers, judges, lawyers, doctors, nurses and other health care providers, civil servants, highlevel government officials, humanitarian aid workers, religious leaders, women’s groups, and
school-going boys and girls. With respect to law enforcers, Singapore has an inter-ministerial
committee, the Women and Family Violence Committee, that, among other things, looks into the
training of police officers in the handling of family violence, coordinates the service providers
and improves the support services along the way.
Working to change social perceptions that foster discrimination against women is
essential. At the same time, we need to also educate women on the laws that affect their
everyday lives so that they are empowered to make informed decisions. They need to understand
at least the domestic laws that govern family, labour, inheritance, housing and income issue.
They also need to understand the judicial process so that they will not be daunted by it. The same
goes for immigrant women: they too need to know the legal avenues they have in the new
country of adoption when their rights are infringed, such as when they are abused or denied their
rest days.
To educate the layman effectively, information on the law must be relayed in simple
language so that it can be easily understood. Interesting ways to teach the law, such as using
cartoons and puppet shows, should be adopted, especially for very poorly educated or illiterate
audiences. The Singapore Association of Women Lawyers (SAWL), which I am proud to
represent here today, has done this successfully through their publications, street theatre,
seminars, dialogues, and engaging with the public through radio programmes and the press.
Other organizations in Singapore such as the Singapore Council of Women’s
Organisations, the Law Society of Singapore and the Family Court have produced free, easy-tounderstand pamphlets to educate the public on some areas of the law, including the rights of
women and judicial processes. Legal information has also been made readily available to the
public on the Internet.
Many helping hands: Support services for victims of domestic violence
The law cannot work in isolation. It needs to work in partnership with all sectors of the
community to achieve zero tolerance of domestic violence against women. In this respect, we
need to have support services such as counselling, mediation, shelter for abused victims and their
children, free health care for the abused and legal aid.
In Singapore, there are many organizations that provide support services to abused
women. For example, the Samaritans of Singapore and the Association of Women for Action and
6
World Report on Violence and Health, Geneva: World Health Organization. 2002, p. 94.
http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/media/en/480.pdf
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Research (AWARE) run hotlines that offer telephone counselling for women and men in distress.
There are also quite a few crisis centres in Singapore for abused persons such as the Star
Shelter,which was established in 1999 by the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations
(SCWO).
Also, legal aid is provided by some bodies such as the Legal Aid Bureau, The Law
Society of Singapore’s Pro Bono Services Office and the Family Court itself. Voluntary welfare
organizations and non-governmental organizations such as SAWL, SCWO, Jamiyah Singapore
and AWARE offer free legal counselling and advice to the community.
Providing support services to abused women, girls and other victims of violence is a
primary concern. But to stem violence against women effectively, we should work to remove the
violent behaviour itself. Leaving an abusive relationship does not guarantee the victim’s safety, a
pattern noted in all countries by the World Report on Violence and Health7. Indeed, abusive
behaviour could surface in new relationships. In Singapore, the Family Court itself has taken the
initiative to provide such preventive intervention through its Family Transformation and
Protection Unit. The unit provides counsellors who encourage abusers to participate in
rehabilitative programmes and to learn to curb their violent behaviour. What I envision is a
programme where the perpetrator is removed from the home and placed in a rehabilitative centre,
and who is then returned to the family upon completion of a rehabilitative programme.
Conclusion
Changing violent behaviour, whether through education or rehabilitative processes, is one of the
strongest tools we have to combat this epidemic of violence. It is the root of the problem, and
more should be invested towards this end. Together with legal reform, public education and other
supporting programmes, we stand a better chance of preventing domestic violence against
women.
Anamah Tan
Board member, Singapore Association of Women Lawyers (SAWL)
Country Vice-President, International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA)
President, International Council of Women (ICW)
Member, United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
(UN CEDAW)
Presented at the Asia Women Lawyers’ Conference, Bangalore, India, 22 – 23 September,
2007.
7
World Report on Violence and Health, Geneva: World Health Organization. 2002, p. 16.
http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/media/en/559.pdf
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