WHILE Malaysians hold a good understanding of violence against women (VAW), more than half of Malaysians believe that domestic violence is a normal reaction of stress or frustration, a recent study conducted by the Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) found.
The survey which involved 1,000 Malaysian respondents also reported that only half of Malaysians support gender equality (46.3%) and oppose violence-endorsing attitudes (52.7%).
Additionally, 43.0% of respondents believe that a woman can make a man so angry that he hits her when he does not mean to, while one third (30.0%) believe that women who flirt often are to be blamed for causing their partners to hit them out of jealousy.
The survey further indicated that 26.5% of Malaysians believe that domestic violence is forgivable if the perpetrator is so angry that they lose control.
“These suggest that there are still circumstances for which VAW is acceptable such as when perceived as an emotional gesture, or in the event the victim has behaved in a way that triggers the abuse,” the group said in a statement.
“Malaysians also tend to underestimate the complexity of abuse, with 37.1% of the survey population believing that it is not as hard to leave an abusive relationship, and 44.9% who believe that women who stay with their abusive partners, are also responsible for the ongoing abuse.”
Meanwhile, rape myths were also highly endorsed by the survey population, with the study indicating that while 83.4% of respondents believed that rape happens when a man cannot control his desires, 51.3% felt such sexual crimes happen due to the way a woman dresses.
In addition, while Malaysians were generally well-equipped to recognise non-physical forms of domestic violence when described clearly and explicitly, the study found that respondents demonstrated slightly lower knowledge towards cyber-harassment, stalking and controlling behaviour.
For instance, approximately 11% of Malaysians do not consider controlling behaviour such as preventing a partner from seeing their family or friends and denying a woman access to finances as a form of domestic violence.
“Respondents’ lower levels of awareness towards non-physical violence may be due to pre-existing ideas of violence, which is more often related to physical harm such as bruises or visible injuries,” said WAO.
On a more positive note, Malaysians strongly oppose child marriage, with survey results indicating that 70.3% of respondents broadly oppose child marriage under any and all circumstances.
Only approximately one tenth of Malaysians explicitly support child marriage, with the greatest support coming from older men above aged 55 years and above. – Nov 16, 2021
