Thursday, January 18, 2007
A campaign about love is not just a campaign...
A Campaign about Love is not just a campaign to stop violence against women in the future, it is a campaign to educate the society of the importance of womanhood through the understanding of womanhood. When both male and female understand womanhood, young students who are future parents or husband-and-wife can portray a healthy intimate relationship to the next generation, thus creating a harmonious nation which can increase the productivity of the nation and towards a better Vision 2020.
Colors and logo
Black – represents the seriousness of the issue of violence against women
White – represents the purity and clarity of women and also the messages that “A Campaign of Love” that we are conveying
Pink – represents women
Outline of heart shape – represents the act of embracing women as it is sheltering the symbol of women
Symbol of women – represents all women
White – represents the purity and clarity of women and also the messages that “A Campaign of Love” that we are conveying
Pink – represents women
Outline of heart shape – represents the act of embracing women as it is sheltering the symbol of women
Symbol of women – represents all women
Why we chose "embracing women"?
Embracing Women
The tagline was chosen to carry as a message that women deserve recognition for every little act of love they commit towards people they love but are easily forgotten, for every big contribution of compassion that builds the nation but is hidden in the sanctity of the home, and for every thing considered mediocre is the reason children are nurtured, men are loved and the home is secure. The word embracing was chosen because it aptly carries the emotion that it is time to nurture the nurturer and protect her as she had once protected us and always will.
The tagline was chosen to carry as a message that women deserve recognition for every little act of love they commit towards people they love but are easily forgotten, for every big contribution of compassion that builds the nation but is hidden in the sanctity of the home, and for every thing considered mediocre is the reason children are nurtured, men are loved and the home is secure. The word embracing was chosen because it aptly carries the emotion that it is time to nurture the nurturer and protect her as she had once protected us and always will.
Reasons They Abused and Why the Abused Endure Through it.
Reasons they abuse
Given by the WAO research (Abdul Ghani, 2005), the reasons the men abused the women are due to jealousy (23), suspicion (8), financial problem (23), alcohol (17), drug (5), gambling (4), extra marital affairs (8), work related stress (18), child related problems (11), in-laws interference (13), sexual (5), for no reason (19) and lastly others (11).
From our primary research conducted via open-ended intensive interviews with 6 respondents we identified that psychological abuse outbursts were due to lack of understanding about womanhood by men. Men, generally perceived women with traditional mindsets and have standard expectations for women to serve and remain complacent to the male’s demands for example, women are expected to cook, to take care of the family and in general, comments received from the focus group interview conducted by the event crew members suggested that men want women to stay at home.
Men in general, due to commercialism and power of media, are unaware that certain expectations on women’s physique and outlook can be a form of abuse. Comments such as wanting their female partners to be sexy and to be beautiful can lead to their partner’s lost of self esteem and emotional well-being. Still, most of the men interviewed were unaware of this fact.
Also, men, from the interview are identified as a race who has been socialised to think that female partners belong to them (objects of ownership) when in a relationship. This power-relation play is another reason why some men control every aspect “their women” while not realizing that the act of owning a woman is a form of abuse. Men’s general knowledge in women and their roles in the society has indeed depreciated or perhaps had been missing for a very long time that surprisingly, after numerous campaigns raising awareness for women, men still use the line “if you love me, make love with me” and “you don’t make love to me means you don’t love me”.
Hence, we believe that the need for control, lack of understanding, poor gender socialization within the society and media influence are the reasons, though not exclusive, to abuse and violence against women. The organizer plans to overcome the abovementioned ignorance through the campaign via educational talks, workshops and exhibitions by subject matter experts.
Reasons the abused endure
According to the same WAO research (Abdul Ghani, 2005), among the reasons why women endured the violence perpetrated by their beloved are as the following:
• they wanted to give their husbands another chance,
• worried about the children’s schooling,
• financial reasons,
• husband agreed to change lifestyle,
• under threat from husband,
• illness in family,
…amongst the few.
Women’s natural instinct for caring, forgiving and compromising are their best traits yet the downfall of the gender. Despite the abuses and violence experienced, most abused women were reported to continuously decide to go back to the family for their children, to give their husbands another chance, because of an illness in the family and she returns to the arms of the abuser knowing that she might be abused again.
Apart from the above reasons, many women are unaware of the different forms abuse can occur, hence, continuously live in a world of abuse because it is the norm.
We believe that women need to have a voice, stand up for their rights and be strengthened by her natural instincts. The organizer plans to create awareness and educated women regarding their rights and their roles in the society, especially in their own homes in hope that the abuse will end.
The abuser VS The abused!
The AbuserDomestic violence is mostly perpetrated by men against women. It is usually perpetrated by males who are, or who have been, in positions of trust and intimacy and power – husbands, boyfriends, fathers, fathers-in-law, stepfathers, brothers, uncles, sons, or other relatives (WAO, 2000). Women can also be violent. However, their actions account for a small percentage of domestic violence.
From the research done by WAO (Abdul Ghani, 2005), all of the violence reported were perpetrated by their trust worthiest person such as husbands/ex-husbands, parents, boyfriends/ex-boyfriends, live-in partners and relatives. And the acts of violence were not confined to lower education people, but also professionals who have university qualifications (up to Diploma and Degree level).
The Abused
In the same research report by WAO (Abdul Ghani, 2005), most abused women were possessing a lower education qualification. Out of 116 women who sought shelter from WAO’s home, 54 women were having no income and 32 women were having income lower than RM 500 in a month. Many (about 42 women) were unemployed, 13 women were professionals such as doctors, IT executive, accountant and secretary, and the rest are general workers technical workers, administrators, self-employed, students, worked clerical job, sales, services sector and others. Another group of women such as migrant workers were also badly experienced psychological abuses by their partners.
In all, the statistics show that violence against women can happen to any female adult from any socioeconomic background, race or religion. Basically, it can happen to any woman in this world.
The Most Reported Abuse Cases Year 2005 in Malaysia.
According to the recent research done by WAO, the total number of women utilising WAO’s services in Petaling Jaya amounts to 1446. Among these women, 112 women sought shelter, 115 women had face-to-face counselling services and lastly 1215 women had telephone counselling services from WAO (Abdul Ghani, 2005).
To examine the data in detail, among the 116 women who sought shelter from WAO, 58 (50%) of them were because of domestic violence. And out of the 58 women, 53 women experienced psychological abuses – highlighting the intensity of silent abuse. As for face-to-face counselling services, 60 (52.2%) out of 115 women had experienced domestic violence as well. Domestic violence is reported as being the most prevalent cases and more significantly, almost all women experienced psychological abuses.
To examine the data in detail, among the 116 women who sought shelter from WAO, 58 (50%) of them were because of domestic violence. And out of the 58 women, 53 women experienced psychological abuses – highlighting the intensity of silent abuse. As for face-to-face counselling services, 60 (52.2%) out of 115 women had experienced domestic violence as well. Domestic violence is reported as being the most prevalent cases and more significantly, almost all women experienced psychological abuses.
Types of Abuse and Violence Recorded 2001-2004
Researches done by WAO starting from 2001 to 2004 (information provided by WAO), the types of violence reported were abuse of domestic workers (267 cases), child abuse (686 cases), sodomy (740 cases), incest (1353), outrage of modesty (7209 cases), rape (7273 cases) and domestic violence (14986 cases).
Evidently, domestic violence has the most reported cases. According to WAO, domestic violence has been a significant but often a hidden social problem since 1995. The problem is a taboo topic especially in a conservative Malaysian society, hence, tackling the issue has been a challenging feat. It has been difficult to solve domestic violence because it happens in the homes of the victims. The main issue debated is that the problem is sensitive that involves the “sanctity and privacy of the family, and the intimacy of marital relationships” (WAO, 1995).
In the same year, WAO has also produced another report named “Battered Women in Malaysia: Prevalence, Problems and Public Attitudes” which was based on a similar national research done several years ago. In the report, 1.8 million (39%) of women over 15 were experiencing violence by their husbands and boyfriends but only 909 women actually reported violence to the police.
Such findings further proves that violence should be stopped from the home as most domestic violence cases went unreported because of the matter of family privacy and traditional belief and perception that are prevailed by the society.
Evidently, domestic violence has the most reported cases. According to WAO, domestic violence has been a significant but often a hidden social problem since 1995. The problem is a taboo topic especially in a conservative Malaysian society, hence, tackling the issue has been a challenging feat. It has been difficult to solve domestic violence because it happens in the homes of the victims. The main issue debated is that the problem is sensitive that involves the “sanctity and privacy of the family, and the intimacy of marital relationships” (WAO, 1995).
In the same year, WAO has also produced another report named “Battered Women in Malaysia: Prevalence, Problems and Public Attitudes” which was based on a similar national research done several years ago. In the report, 1.8 million (39%) of women over 15 were experiencing violence by their husbands and boyfriends but only 909 women actually reported violence to the police.
Such findings further proves that violence should be stopped from the home as most domestic violence cases went unreported because of the matter of family privacy and traditional belief and perception that are prevailed by the society.
Did you know or did you not know?
Nova Vita Domestic Violence Prevention Service (2001) defines women abuse as “any verbal threat or physical force used to create fear and controls what a woman does”. Abuse can also come in three types – physical, psychological and sexual. Severe abuses towards a woman lead to violence. As mentioned earlier, researches from WAO showed that domestic violence still remained as the most reported cases in Malaysia and it had always been on the increase. Therefore, we have decided to focus our campaign on issues regarding domestic violence.
Domestic Violence (or even intimate partner violence) is defined as “when one partner usually a boyfriend or husband attempts to control and dominate the other, usually a girlfriend or wife through violence, threat of violence, or by controlling the couple's finances and social life” (WAO, 2000). Again, it comes in three forms – psychological, physical and sexual. And according to National Coalition of Domestic Violence, 1 in every 4 women would experience it in her lifetime (Tjaden and Thoennes, 2000).
What,Where,When,Who,How??
Everybody knows that our first love was our Mother's, hence, the event organizer pledges to recognize womanhood and embrace our mothers, sisters and daughters. A Campaign about Love is grounded on the basis that women are the foundation of love and life as we know it. The campaign undertakes the challenge of educating youths and college going students about the importance of women in our lives and why forsaking the female race and ignoring their cries by shutting one eye to abuse and violence against women is abandoning the hope of our future generation.
A Campaign about Love aims to create awareness and to educate approximately 1000 college-going students within the Klang Valley about understanding and loving women, with a long-term objective of protecting women through educating the mass about embracing the strength and weaknesses of the woman - targeting at most 5 main private colleges in the areas of Sunway and Petaling Jaya (PJ). The target groups are male and female youths who are college goers between the ages of 18 and 25.
From the news, women agencies, NGO’s and human right’s organizations alike, we have read many different ways a woman suffers and succumb to abuse and violence every second of the day. We also know that most of the time, the abuser and violence come from the private realms of the woman’s home. There are simply too much pain and causes to mention. However, we also realize, though we applaud the efforts, every past campaign that talked about abuse and violence against women, often highlighting the issues pertaining to abuse and violence, ways to avoiding it, and offer shelters for abused women and or emphasizing failed laws and regulations, most events and campaigns lacked the education of why womanhood is to be celebrated and embraced.
It is the event organizer’s belief that should the society engage in forums, talks and educational activities that nurture the understanding, love and respect for women from various perspectives, then we may find more reasons to embrace women instead of abandoning them to abuse and violence. Around the world, not excluding Malaysia, society is built upon a perception where males are dominant over women. The issue of gender inequality is one of the root causes of violence against women. We believe that once the target audience understands womanhood then future abuse and violence against women have a hope to end.
Hence, our tagline is Embracing Women. Our agenda is focused on highlighting women’s role in the society and the importance of safeguarding the women’s physical and mental health for positive nation building. We want to highlight that abuse and violence against women will only deteriorate a nation’s moral and values.
A Campaign about Love aims to create awareness and to educate approximately 1000 college-going students within the Klang Valley about understanding and loving women, with a long-term objective of protecting women through educating the mass about embracing the strength and weaknesses of the woman - targeting at most 5 main private colleges in the areas of Sunway and Petaling Jaya (PJ). The target groups are male and female youths who are college goers between the ages of 18 and 25.
From the news, women agencies, NGO’s and human right’s organizations alike, we have read many different ways a woman suffers and succumb to abuse and violence every second of the day. We also know that most of the time, the abuser and violence come from the private realms of the woman’s home. There are simply too much pain and causes to mention. However, we also realize, though we applaud the efforts, every past campaign that talked about abuse and violence against women, often highlighting the issues pertaining to abuse and violence, ways to avoiding it, and offer shelters for abused women and or emphasizing failed laws and regulations, most events and campaigns lacked the education of why womanhood is to be celebrated and embraced.
It is the event organizer’s belief that should the society engage in forums, talks and educational activities that nurture the understanding, love and respect for women from various perspectives, then we may find more reasons to embrace women instead of abandoning them to abuse and violence. Around the world, not excluding Malaysia, society is built upon a perception where males are dominant over women. The issue of gender inequality is one of the root causes of violence against women. We believe that once the target audience understands womanhood then future abuse and violence against women have a hope to end.
Hence, our tagline is Embracing Women. Our agenda is focused on highlighting women’s role in the society and the importance of safeguarding the women’s physical and mental health for positive nation building. We want to highlight that abuse and violence against women will only deteriorate a nation’s moral and values.
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