MCA Women have once again misinterpreted and belittled the gravity of domestic violence or gender-based violence as an issue which can easily be tackled with teaching women karate as a form of self-defence against an abusive partner.
Heng Seai Kie, MCA Women President in her speech at the MCA General Assembly stated that it is important for women and children to take care of themselves by learning karate. Media reports state that MCA will run the “Karate Defence and Self Protect” training course from 12-20 March.
Eight days of karate training to help women defend themselves against abusive partners? This statement is bizarre, comical and irresponsible. Self-defence cannot ‘banish’ violence and it appears that MCA Women have totally missed the mark.
For the information for MCA, their partners in government and the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, domestic violence is not restricted to the traditional or conventional impression that it is solely about using physical force against one’s partner.
Domestic violence is defined as the use of intimidating, manipulative or coercive behaviour by one partner in an intimate relationship over another partner, for the purpose of gaining or maintaining power and control.
Domestic violence is habitual, repeated and random, and it may take the form of physical abuse; psychological abuse in the form of blackmail or threats; social abuse in the form of harassment and stalking, and also preventing the partner from any or limited access to social communications or activity whether online or in person; sexual abuse which includes marital rape; or financial abuse where a partner controls the finances of the victim leaving them totally helpless and dependent on the aggressor.
A quick check on the websites of Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) or AWAM or WCC or even UN Women states the same thing – that it is not exclusive to physical abuse alone. Preventing domestic abuse must be a collective effort and must have total involvement and participation of the local community, places of worship, schools, colleges and institutions of higher learning, NGOs, industry players, lawmakers, enforcement officers, government machinery and a robust judiciary system in place. Karate is not going to prevent any form of violence from taking place in a home.
Heng Seai Kie should enrol in a crash course with local women NGOs like AWAM, WAO, WCC, ABIM, SIS or others, and at the same time empower herself and her party by following the action plans in place by state government agencies — such as Penang Women’s Development Corporation (PWDC) in Penang, the Pusat Wanita Berdaya (PWB) in Selangor, and PH GEM in Negeri Sembilan — on their unique roles as state players in protecting victims in abusive relationships.
Penang has recently set up a first-of-its-kind “First Support Point” under the Penang Safe Family Policy to assist survivors of domestic violence and has given out appointment letters to state constituency offices and NGOs as a firm stand against domestic violence.
For decades, women NGOs have been advocating on increasing awareness and public education on what domestic violence is. On that point, did MCA Women forget that men are also victims of domestic violence?
Fighting back with full force to deter perpetrators might work on the streets in the event you become a victim of a robbery or snatch theft but it WILL NOT enable an abusive partner to reform!
Marital rape is not a joke and saying that “a wife may have earlier fought (the husband) during the day time or evening, but at night, when they turn in to the bedroom, there usually is a happy ending” shows how disconnected and detached Heng is by belittling the plight of women who suffer at the hands of their abusive partners at any time of the day – in or out of the bedroom.
As a political party which is part of the Government now, MCA Women should call for the Government not to rest on its laurels and push for reforms in tabling the amendments to criminalise stalking, to empower and propel education and awareness programmes from school level right up to enforcement officers on the latest developments on how we, as a nation, can push and fight against gender-based violence. The judiciary must be strengthened and the Government must function in line with international standards and best practices for greater protection for men and women in abusive relationships.
Karate is fun to watch on TV and exciting to learn as a form of self-defence – but MCA Women has totally missed the mark if they think that it will prevent domestic abuse.