GEORGE TOWN: Husbands are also victims of domestic violence, with 64 cases recorded in Penang from early January to September, Penang Social Development, Welfare and Non-Islamic Affairs Committee chairman Lim Siew Khim said today.
She also said that domestic violence cases in Penang dropped to 288 cases this year from 450 the year before based on police records, and 64 cases involved male victims this year, compared to 105 cases last year, and 224 cases involved women this year, compared to 346 last year.
“(Domestic) violence does not care about gender and there are all kinds of violence, including male victims, and they fall prey to ‘cold wars’, slaps and long-term insults that he has to bear with. We cannot merely focus on women victims as they (men) are brave enough to voice it out,” she said in reply to an oral question by Lee Boon Heng (PKR-Kebun Bunga) on domestic violence at the Penang state assembly here today.
She also informed Azmi Alang (Bersatu-Teluk Air Tawar), who asked about cases involving husbands, that there were various cases, including mental abuse and insults from their partners.
She also said that the problem with domestic violence was that it was such a frequent occurrence that it has become a societal norm and was viewed as a familial conflict that should be resolved without the interference of others.
She also pointed out that domestic violence is interpreted as a seizable offence under the Domestic Violence Act 1994, which is read together under provisions of the Penal Code and other written laws, adding that the Act had been amended in 2018 and 2017 to include an expanded definition of domestic violence, such as psychological and emotional damage. –Bernama
