"How am I Safe?" by Su Tze Ching
“He smashed her face with his fists, breaking her nose, leaving multiple fractures, and causing her brain to bleed”. What in the world? I stared at the statement in shock and my eyes bulged with horror as I read the sentence in the Straits Times. When Ms Rachel Lim, then 25, refused
the demands of her former boyfriend for sex, he abused her for several hours. The abuser finally stopped when his father called the police who then arrested him. Ms Lim's wounds were so extensive that she was hospitalized for three weeks…
It is not uncommon to hear about domestic violence stories in Singapore. Although ranked 2nd safest city in the world based on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Safe Cities Index (SCI), Singapore faces increasing rates of domestic abuse. Singaporean Minister of State for Home Affairs Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim said that there was a 10 percent rise in family violence cases every month between April and December 2020. The number of reports being filed only continued to go up from 2,560 in the first half of 2020 to 2,603 over the same period in 2022. The number of police reports filed for similar offenses over the first six months of 2021 was 2,638.
What is causing Singapore, a supposedly advanced and modern first-world country, to be facing increasing rates of domestic violence?
Well, the reason is complicated.
Instead of blaming the perpetrator, victims in Singapore are often blamed for the violence caused. According to the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE), 40.0% of respondents aged 18-39 and over 50.0% of respondents aged 40 and above agree that women who wear provocative clothing are “asking for it” and should bear responsibility for harassment. Such victim-blaming attitudes contribute to restricting women’s sexual freedom, legitimizing sexual harassment, and resulting in unsupportive first responses to victims.
These attitudes towards women have become such a norm in Singapore that even women blame themselves for the violence they receive, resulting in 6 in 10 victims of physical violence suffering repeated victimization. This ultimately led to a lack of awareness of non-physical violence among the people in Singapore.
I strongly believe that Singapore needs to implement better education regarding domestic violence. Girls and women need to be educated on domestic violence. If the girls are educated about domestic violence from a young age, they are more likely to be able to prevent getting themselves into such situations, and will know where and how to seek help should they be in such situations. Meanwhile, males need to learn the right way of treating females in their lives. They need to learn how to respect the bodies of women, as well as to communicate their needs and wants properly instead of lashing their anger and frustration out on females.
As a seventeen-year-old female living in Singapore, I hope to one day see a change in the treatment of girls and women in Singapore’s society. I hope to one day be able to wake up and see no news of females getting sexually assaulted or abused by their loved ones. I hope to one day be able to start my own family without fearing for the safety of myself and my children.
“He smashed her face with his fists, breaking her nose, leaving multiple fractures, and causing her brain to bleed”. I hope to one day see this no more.
References
2. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/singapore-police-family-violence-rising-3035671
3. https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-city-rankings/safest-cities-in-the-world
4. https://sbr.com.sg/news/singapore-ranks-8th-in-schroders-global-cities-index
5. https://www.aware.org.sg/information/violence-against-women-in-singapore/