SINGAPORE : More men have turned to the courts for Personal
Protection Orders against their abusive wives, ex-wives or family
members.
And last year, 74 children and young persons aged 14 to 16 were
brought to the Juvenile Court for Care and Protection Orders, up
from just 42 cases in 2001.
The Family and Juvenile Courts says spousal violence remains the
main type of family violence.
There is a 10% drop in family violence cases last year, down to
2,522 cases from 2003's 2,783.
But what's interesting is that more men are becoming victims of
violence.
From just 8% of reported cases in 1998, it has risen to 18% last
year.
However, more complainants say they had not sustained physical
injuries.
"We figure that the reason for the increase is probably not because
there's more men being abused, but there're probably more men
coming to the courts to seek protection and that they are more
enlightened these days and they are not afraid to come to the court
to seek protection for themselves. Women are physical weaker than
men. So it's very likely that women who commit violence on the men
is likely to be just scratching, slapping or verbal threats. And
shouting, and being very fierce," said Annie Lee, Director of
Family & Juvenile Courts.
According to the study, 52% of the cases come from Chinese
families, followed by 23% from Indian families, 20% from Malay
households and other races making up the remaining 5% of the
cases.
But when compared to the national ethnic demography of Singapore,
non-Chinese are over-represented.
What is more disturbing is the finding that more children below 16
need protection from the Courts.
Last year, 74 children had to be protected from physical, emotional
and sexual abuse.
"We are concerned about the increase although the absolute numbers
are not very high. Neglect can come in many forms. For example, it
can be medically neglected, that means the child is sick and the
parents did not bring the child to get medical attention. Or the
parents are aware that the child is involved in criminal
activities, or having mal-adaptive behaviour like not going to
school, but the parents are being very passive about it and are not
doing anything about their child's behaviour. So these are neglect
which we think would be detrimental to the children in the long
run. So we'd like to work with the parents on this and see how else
can they enhance their parenting skills. Or if there are any other
assistance they may need. Because the profile of these parents in
our studies show that a lot of them face financial difficulties.
They also have marital problems and they tend not to have high
income from their jobs. So we're looking at families that have
multiple problems at hand," said Annie Lee.
These children are fostered out or sent to Boys' or Girls' homes
where delinquent children are sent.
The concern is that by putting them under the same roof, the young
and innocent victims may pick up bad habits from the juvenile
delinquents, which the Court calls 'cross-contamination.'
Some of the cases come to light because of reports made by
neighbours so the public has a role to play. - CNA