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PETALING JAYA: Newlywed ‘Nellie’ jumped from her first-floor balcony at 3.30am to escape her abusive husband, a week after their marriage.
The emotionally and physically battered 21-year-old girlfriend required surgery as she suffered multiple broken four toes in the fall.
Her family forced her into an arranged marriage on March 14, four days before the movement control order (MCO) was enforced in Malaysia due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
On the first day of the MCO, her husband started beating her. He threatened to hunt down ‘Nellie’ and kill her if she tried to run away.
‘Nellie’ was recently discharged from the hospital and is in a Women’s Aid Organization (WAO) shelter where they are helping her with case management.
The story of ‘Nellie’ paints a bleak picture of the lives of women for whom the blockade of fear and abuse has intensified.
The Covid-19 crisis appears to have brought out the worst in human behavior with reports of violent crime lighting up helplines.
Putrajaya and political leaders must take swift action to address the growing dilemma of domestic violence, as the country faces an increase in the number of infections, new restrictions and closures.
The cost of doing nothing is unacceptable.
Given that today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, it is an appropriate time to analyze the implications that the pandemic is having on families, relationships and couples.
The annual international campaign “16 days of activism against gender violence” that runs until December 10, Human Rights Day, demands peace in homes.
FMT spoke with WAO program chief Joanne Melissa Wong to find out how Covid-19 has exacerbated domestic violence against women eight months after the virus outbreak in Malaysia.
Below are excerpts from the interview:
Is domestic violence increasingly prevalent in the conditions created by the pandemic?
The unfortunate reality is that domestic violence (DV) is always present in our society.
While domestic violence stems from gender inequality and patriarchal norms, which in turn create unstable power dynamics in relationships, these problems can be compounded by factors such as financial stress and uncertainty about the future.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, many women and children have been isolated in their homes with abusive partners or relatives.
Although the pandemic is not the cause of domestic abuse, it has created circumstances conducive to such abuse.
The environment facilitates the abuser ability to control and makes it difficult for the survivor to get help.
Relationships with an existing power imbalance can lead to abusive relationships with the loss or instability of employment and regular income caused by the pandemic and the accompanying economic recession.
And coupled with additional stresses such as childcare and health, abusive situations are likely to escalate further, causing an overall increase in DV.
Are WAO hotlines lighting up with reports of abuse?
Compared to the 250 inquiries received in February, before the MCO went into effect, we received 350 in March, 898 (April) and 848 (May), respective increases of 3.6 and 3.4 times pre-MCO levels.
The total number of calls received from March to September through the WAO hotline is 2,412 and 2,976 through the TINA-WAO WhatsApp.
Should the government have seen the rise in domestic violence during the shutdown?
Unfortunately, we have seen crises that often lead to disproportionate negative impacts for women, even in the form of DV.
For WAO, the pandemic has simultaneously been a call to action and a test of our resilience and ability not only to sustain, but to grow rapidly and adapt to new challenges.
How intense is the psychological and physical abuse when people are together 24 hours in a confined space?
We see an escalation of more domestic disputes. Some common factors are loss of income, stress from family roles in parental tasks, and difficulties in applying for government funds.
Gender roles also increase tensions between the family and result in psychological and physical abuse.
Other than physical violence, what are the other common tools of abuse?
Nonphysical ones include socially isolating the survivor from friends, family, and support systems.
Other ways are related to restricting the survivor’s access to joint resources and earning income.
Or by depleting the survivor’s own financial resources, insulting and degrading them and slowly destroying their sense of self.
DV is about acting on an imbalance of power in an intimate relationship by exercising control.
Have women become more vulnerable as a result of juggling multiple responsibilities during the pandemic?
With the increase in unpaid care work as a result of children not attending school, families being more at home, and sick or elderly family members to care for, the burden on women has increased significantly.
This is especially true for women who are employed and who juggle personal and professional responsibilities.
In addition to the adverse psychological and physical impacts on women, this has also had economic impacts on them.
They have been forced to abandon or reduce their income-generating activities, be it full-time, part-time or on their own.
Lack of economic independence and stability can also make women more vulnerable to gender-based violence.
Do women do more housework than men during the pandemic?
According to a UN document, before the pandemic, women performed three times more unpaid care and domestic work than men.
Now, with children out of school, more meals to prepare at home, and the heightened care needs of older people and sick family members, the burden of care has increased exponentially.
A 2019 study by the Khazanah Research Institute found that surveyed Malaysian women carried a double burden.
They spent almost 64% more time than men on unpaid care work, despite working almost the same number of hours as men in paid employment.
What about women who try to become financially independent to leave the abuser?
Economic difficulties increase the vulnerability of women in multiple ways.
Loss of employment or income-generating activities may force them to remain abused and continue to be subjected to violence.
In other situations, where the husband is the main source of income and loses his job, this can create significant additional stress on the family.
In circumstances where there is already abuse or power imbalance in the relationship, this could exacerbate the situation and result in violence.
What can be done to ensure that survivors remain connected to the outside world?
It is vital that the government and NGOs increase their outreach and find creative ways to reach survivors who may be in need.
