KOTA KINABALU: More effort is needed to bring down the number of domestic violence cases in Sabah as the number recorded has gone up this year, says Datuk James Ratib.
The state Community Development and People’s Wellbeing Minister also urged for assistance from the people after 362 cases of domestic violence were recorded between January and October this year in Sabah.
The figures provided by the Sabah police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) showed there were 301 cases in the same period in 2022, which represented an increase of 61 cases.
"This is very worrying because the implications or effects are detrimental to victims of domestic violence, both physically and mentally," he said, on Wednesday (Nov 22).
Ratib said it was not impossible to tackle such incidents but pointed out that the public must show commitment and responsibility to prevent them.
As such, he said, relevant bodies such as the Sabah Women’s Affairs Department (Jhewa) must implement more programmes to raise awareness among the people on the issue of violence against women.
He said this in his speech delivered by his assistant minister Datuk Flovia Ng during an event entitled "Sleeping With The Enemy: Violence Against Women" here.
The event was held in conjunction with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women which is commemorated on Nov 25 each year.
Ratib said his Ministry, through Jhewa, has initiated a campaign called "We Eliminate Violence Against Women" (WeVAW), which was aimed to strengthen the agenda to stop such crimes.
He said the campaign has been inserted in the Women’s Flagship Outreach Santuni programme.
"This is being implemented in all the 73 Sabah state constituencies from 2021 to 2025 under the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) development plan," he added.
He urged Jhewa to work on raising awareness against domestic violence even after the end of the flagship programme.
