By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 19: Domestic violence can happen to anyone, regardless of age, gender, income or background, cautioned Minister for Women, Childhood, and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah, as Sarawak recorded a sharp rise in cases from 477 in 2023 to 552 in 2024.
According to a Sarawak Public Communication Unit (Ukas) news report, Fatimah revealed that when broken down by gender, male victims recorded 178 cases in 2023 which rose slightly to 181 cases in 2024.
Female victims, however, saw a more alarming increase, jumping from 287 cases in 2023 to 371 cases in 2024.
“This breakdown clearly shows that domestic violence cases increased from 2023 to 2024,” she stressed.
Her speech was delivered by Deputy Minister Datuk Rosey Yunus at the closing ceremony of the ‘Breaking The Silence: Violence Prevention in Sarawak’ programme held here today.
Fatimah said the Sarawak government remains committed to tackling the issue of domestic violence through several key initiatives.
Among the measures implemented is the “Know Your Rights” programme under the Sarawak Women and Family Department (JWKS), aimed at educating the public about laws and available support relating to domestic violence.
Additionally, the One Stop Crisis Centres (OSCC) at all hospital emergency departments in Sarawak provide medical treatment, police assistance and psychosocial support in collaboration with the State Health Department.
“The Sarawak Legal Aid Department also offers legal assistance to obtain protection orders, while the Sarawak Social Welfare Department (JKM) provides temporary shelter for victims and manages the process of applying for protection orders,” she explained. — DayakDaily
