Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff. – Bernama
KOTA KINABALU: The number of domestic violence cases in the country has dropped to 576 between January and April this year compared to 627 over the same period in 2021.
Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff said during the same period in Sabah, however, domestic violence cases increased to 145 during the same period in 2022 from 126 last year.
She said although police statistics showed an increase in Sabah, she believed that strong cooperation among all the parties concerned could reduce the cases, besides through the various initiatives taken by the ministry such as the Skuad Waja.
"To date, the Skuad Waja has 304,982 members, with 21,387 in Sabah including 9,159 men," she told reporters after officiating at a Sabah Skuad Waja programme here on Sunday (June 5).
Siti Zailah said to ensure effectiveness of the Skuad Waja empowering programme, RM175,000 had been allocated for 25 districts in Sabah to carry out psycho-social activities.
She said that implementation of the Skuad Waja programme proved the existing good synergy between the government and community in tackling the issue of domestic violence against women.
"With active involvement and the organising of various programmes, I believe the Skuad Waja Sabah will do well in detecting and assisting more women and other vulnerable groups in the community," she added. – Bernama
