Police monitoring ministry's domestic abuse hotline

CORONAVIRUS | The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry's Talian Kasih domestic abuse complaints system is linked directly to the police.

Senior Minister (security cluster) Ismail Sabri Yaakob said this allowed the police to take immediate action upon receiving a complaint.

Ismail said the government was aware that there are domestic problems arising from the MCO, where victims are suffering abuse.

He said victims could call the Talian Kasih hotline at 1599 or send a message through the Whatsapp application at 019-261 5999.

Activists have warned that there was a heavy uptick in domestic violence in countries under lockdown due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) explained there has been a decrease in the number of calls on domestic violence since the start of the MCO on March 18.

This, said WAO, was because victims are being confined with their abusers and are unable to seek help.

The group said that isolation during a health crisis, coupled with concerns over health and finances, tend to aggravate an abusers' desire to exert power and control.

"Domestic violence survivors are at greater risk because they are trapped in the house all day with the abuser.

"It is also more dangerous for them to seek help as the abuser may be monitoring their every move," WAO's Advocacy and Communications Officer Tan Heang-Lee told Malaysiakini. - Mkini