Upholding women’s rights: Ho (back row, third from right) with other Awam members during the launch of its May Day Forum in Petaling Jaya. — AZLINA ABDULLAH/The Star
Experts urge stronger legal protection for divorced women
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia must strengthen its legal framework to better protect divorced women from financial exploitation, especially in situations where they are pressured by former spouses into risky financial agreements, say rights body and lawyers.
All Women’s Action Society (Awam) president Ho Yock Lin said there must be a way to ensure regular payment for alimony and child support.
The delay or lack of payments is typically due to the former spouse.
This can be addressed through an “intermediary” method such as automatic deduction of wages for child support or alimony.
“There are court orders but the lack of action to ensure or monitor these spouses must be addressed,” she said after the launch of Awam’s 40th anniversary May Day Forum here yesterday.
The problem of non-payment often arises because the spouse has no financial means to fufil the court order.
“There must be a way to ensure the men pay the court-ordered alimony or child support as it is their responsibility,” she added.
Association of Women’s Lawyers vice-president Denise Lim said women often find it difficult to legally challenge financial arrangements made under emotional pressure or deceit.
“While it’s possible to challenge such agreements on grounds such as undue influence or misrepresentation, proving these in court is often difficult,” she explained.
Lim noted that evidence of domestic violence by spouses could strengthen such claims.
Single mothers, she said, may protect themselves by obtaining a court order for spousal and child maintenance and/or division of assets.
She said that with such an order, the single mother may also apply for enforcement of court order against their former spouse, if necessary, with attachment of earnings, garnishee proceedings and/or writs of seizure.
“However, such legal processes can be time-consuming, costly and mentally draining.
“It also places the burden on the wife to chase after the former spouse for child and spousal maintenance,” she added.
In advocating for reform, Lim highlighted Australia as a model, where enforcement mechanisms are in place to better protect women who only receive court orders but still had to chase their former spouses for monthly childcare payments.
“Better laws and mechanisms need to be put in place to allow for effective enforcement so that single mothers don’t end up with mere paper judgments or orders,” she said.
Lim strongly advises individuals to obtain independent legal advice before signing financial documents, especially when approached by a former spouse.
“It serves as evidence that the person entered the agreement voluntarily,” she said, adding that it is also crucial to assess and limit one’s liability in such arrangements.
On divorce settlements, Lim urged women, particularly those who had left the workforce to raise children, to seek both financial and legal advice.
She acknowledged that single mothers in Malaysia often struggle financially during and after divorce, especially if former spouses fail to provide maintenance.
On a brighter note, she said single mothers may be eligible for legal aid, subject to income thresholds.
