AFP File Photo for illustration purposes
MIRI: Haliza Zurah Zulkefeli was a victim of domestic violence, but she fought, and won her case at the court of law in Sibu last year.
Now the 36-year old Kuala Lumpur-born medical doctor intends to do more for victims of domestic violence in Sarawak so that they would not suffer in silence with the establishment of the Women’s Organisation for Change (WOC).
WOC was established in August 2016 and in January this year, set up its own hotline.
“WOC’s vision was inspired by my own personal experience of being a victim of domestic violence and not knowing where to go to get help while I was working in Sibu,” she told Bernama.
Dr Haliza, who is the mother of three kids and WOC president said WOC was formed when a group of women from Sarikei and Sibu wanted to assist women who faced domestic violence.
She said the 24-hour WOC hotline at 0138242128 started operation in Jan 2017 to encourage victims of domestic violence to seek help by calling or chatting through WhatsApp.
“The hotline’s main objective intends to assist victims by giving step-by-step guidance on how to stop being a victim and get help from relevant authorities , but the response, so far is still lukewarm,”she said, adding that WOC would refer victims of domestic violence to lawyers that have linked to WOC.
Dr Haliza said WOC also organised seminars, workshops and talks on domestic violence in Sarawak.
She said WOC was also working with the government on the possibility of setting up a shelter home for domestic violence victims in Sarawak.
“We hope the relevant authorities can assist us by providing a permanent social worker and an office for our organisation,” she added. – Bernama