More wives become victims of cruelty by husbands

SHAH ALAM - Stress, debts, financial constraints become among the leading factors of individuals losing their minds and rational thinking.

Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Faculty of Human Ecology Dean Professor Dr Mohamad Fazli Sabri said financial crisis and the lack of resources would not only make a person lose their minds, but will lead to domestic violence as a result of extreme stress.

He said financial problems especially having a lot of debts was seen as a contributing factor to divorce in households.

This, he said would lead to fights between spouses and subsequently lead to emotional and physical abuse to the wife and children.

He said besides being unable to live in peace, an individual would also lose focus, constantly stressed out and have a short temper.

"There is also a possibility that those experiencing emotional distress are involved with Ah Longs (loan sharks).

"If they are involved with Ah Longs, they would surely receive severe threats causing them not to think rationally in fear.

"If they did not receive threats from the Ah Longs, they would also become stressed after receiving reminder letters or warnings from banks and financial institutions," he told Sinar Harian, yesterday.

Fazli commented further saying that the harm of losing rational judgment or sanity were far worse than simply losing patience or failing to control emotions.

He said arguments between a husband and wife were could lead to more aggressive actions such as abuse or even murder.

He said the suspect might not have wanted to commit such acts, but when they lose their sanity, anything could happen.

"When you are no longer rational, horrible things can happen.

"That is why we must raise awareness and educate the public on the dangers of mental stress due to poor financial management," he said.

Many victims of domestic violence withdrew their reports as the matter was difficult to overcome.

Malaysia Legal and Human Rights Practitioners Association (ProGuam) president Noorazmir Zakaria said usually, victims who suffered from abuse and lodged a report were wives.

"Police would usually refer to the complainant before taking action. However, it becomes a problem when they (wives) withdrew their reports as they thought about their children and family's future.

"They were also concerned about how they would make a living if their husband who was their abuser was arrested as the husband was the sole breadwinner of the family," he said.

Noorazmir added that they (wives) did not have the right mindset and the police should be given the chance to proceed and take action against the abusers.

He said by letting domestic violence continue to happen, it would cause more issues to the family especially towards the children and their environment.

Noorazmir stated that many victims would simply allow it to happen as they did not want the family institution to be affected.

"Sometimes we understand that certain wives feared that they would face financial problems if the husband was arrested. However, suffering from abuse is something that they must run way from when they have the opportunity.

"I think that there is nothing wrong if Baitulmal was to support these families who are abuse victims if the husband was arrested and there was a loss of income.

"It could also become a breathing period for the wife to think about starting a new life after suffering from the abuse," he said.