Exploring domestic violence experiences from the perspective of abused women in Malaysia

332 Pages·2017·2.31 MB·English

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Exploring domestic violence
experiences from the
perspective of abused women
in Malaysia
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• A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements
for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University.
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Publisher: (cid:13)c Mariny Abdul Ghani
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EXPLORING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
EXPERIENCES FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF
ABUSED WOMEN IN MALAYSIA

by

Mariny ABDUL GHANI

A Doctoral Thesis
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of
Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University

May 2014

© by Mariny Abdul Ghani (2014)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, thank you Allah for your blessings. I am very grateful for your
continuous guidance and assistance throughout this course of study.

I would like to express my gratitude to my sponsors, the Malaysian Government as
well as Universiti Utara Malaysia, for all the supports given during my stay in the
United Kingdom.

Many thanks go to my supervisors, Professor Duncan Cramer and Professor Barbara
Bagilhole, whose expertise and advice have made this thesis a reality. Not to forget, I
am also indebted to Professor Jo Aldridge who has encouraged my learning.

Thanks to Mr. Howard Billams and Mr. Duncan Alexander McKenzie for reviewing
the drafts and proofreading of this work. To Deirdre Lombard, thank you so much for
the administrative assistance.

Mere words can never express how thankful I am for my family. Heart felt thanks
therefore go to my dear husband, Azizul Mohamad, my beloved sons, Muhammad
Ahsanul Iman and Muhammad Ihsanul Aydin as well as to my adored sister, Hartini
Abdul Ghani. I am so proud to be part of the family.

This thesis is dedicated to everyone whose work to prevent and put an end to the
plague of domestic violence.

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ABSTRACT

Very little is known about the actual living experiences of Malaysian women who are
in a domestic violence relationship. This current study attempts to redress this
shortfall by listening to the women’s stories, understanding their home-life situations
and ultimately offering ideas, strategies as well as information to prevent domestic
violence in Malaysia. Underpinned by a feminist perspective, a qualitative approach
was employed to explore the abused women’s accounts in relation to domestic
violence impacts, barriers to violence disclosure, as well as useful resources for
support of women victims in dealing with domestic violence. Semi-structured
interviews were conducted with 25 women who identified themselves as victims and
survivors of domestic violence perpetrated by their husbands/ex-husbands.

Via the analysis of thematic, six major themes were identified to be the impact of
domestic violence, as described by the participants. The impacts include physical
injuries, mental health problems, social isolation, a growing faith as well as adverse
effects on the children and on the women’s self-worth. The study also found that
many of these abused women were reluctant to disclose abuse because they wanted to
conceal those violence experiences from others because of Malaysian perception on
disclosing marital affairs, they were concerned about the children’s well-being, they
felt partly responsible in provoking the violence, and they admitted to lacking
knowledge on the provisions of support available for domestic violence victims in the
country. From other aspect, the women also struggled to avoid negative labels given
for being disrespectful to their men. In addition, the findings revealed four main
themes related to the underlying issues on the needs and support of domestic violence
service provisions that women drew on in their accounts: theme 1, unpleasant
experiences when accessing the services; theme 2, the problems with procedures in
disclosing and in the help-seeking process; theme 3, the usefulness of services and
theme 4, women’s needs and support mechanisms. As a review, the results gained
from this present study prove the existence of domestic violence in Malaysian
families. Indeed, the interference of cultural values as well as religious beliefs upheld
by the Malaysian community was greatly associated with its occurrence.

In relation to Malaysia, cultural as well as religious beliefs play a significant role in
moulding its people. The results presented seem to add interesting knowledge to the
existing literature, where battered Muslim women in Malaysia perceive their violence
experiences as a motivation to surrender themselves to God and seek spiritual
assistance as one of the impacts due to domestic violence problems. Further, the
women’s misapprehension of Islamic concepts such as disobedience and nusyuz (to
the male partner) has made disclosing violence experiences difficult. Over and above
this, the researcher found that the mechanisms of domestic violence resource
provisions are worthy of investigation. The findings from this research demonstrate
helpful and unhelpful provision of services identified by abused women, in particular
relating to institutions in the nation. Prior to ending, this research proposes a number
of recommendations for change in regards to formal supportive network resources,
education on violence against women at the societal level, as well as the implication
of the findings for the development of domestic violence social policy and practise in
Malaysia.

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CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i
DEDICATION ii
ABSTRACT iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS iv
LIST OF FIGURES x
LIST OF TABLES xi

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Background
Definitions and terms 2
Movements opposing domestic violence against women 6
Prevalence of domestic violence worldwide 7

The Research
Problem statement 10
Research aims 13
Scope of the Study 15
Importance of this study 15

The Summary
Brief review of previous studies 17
Synopsis of research methods 19
Organization of the thesis 21

CHAPTER 2: THE MALAYSIAN CONTEXT
Overview of Malaysia
Historical background 24
Demographics of Malaysia 25
Overview of studies on domestic violence in Malaysia 28
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Family Life in Malaysian Society
Social issues 36
Economic issues 38
Gender gap issues 39
Matrimonial affairs in Malaysian customs 41

Domestic Violence in Malaysia
The prevalence 50
Significant events 53
The Domestic Violence Act 521 (1994) 54
Support system for abused women 60

Conclusions 65

CHAPTER 3: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Islam and Violence against Women
Rights and position of Muslim women 67
Concepts pertaining wife abuse in Islam 69
Domestic violence in Muslim Societies 72

Theoretical Explanations
Psychological perspective 74
Feminist perspective 77
Conceptual framework 83

Previous Studies of Domestic Violence
Understanding the impacts of domestic violence 84
Barriers to disclosing domestic violence 89
The resources of support on domestic violence 92

Gaps in the Literature 97

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CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODS
Introduction
Aims of the study 99
Research approach 100

Data Collection
Participants and Recruitment 114
Methods 117
Pilot study 123

Ethical Issues and Considerations
Ethics and confidentiality issues 127
Privacy and safety matters 128
Availability of support systems and services 129

Approach to Data Analysis
Demographical data 131
Qualitative analysis 131
Reliability and validity 135

Conclusions 137

CHAPTER 5: DESCRIPTIVE RESULTS
Demographical Characteristics
The women 139
The partners 141
The service providers 141

Descriptive Results
Forms of abuse 145
Weapon used 147
Factors contributing to domestic violence 148
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Domestic violence impacts on abused women 149
Disclosing the violence and seeking help 151
Women’s knowledge and awareness on domestic violence service provisions 1 5 3
Viewpoints from the service providers 155

Discussion and Conclusion
Demographical characteristics 159
Descriptive findings 162

CHAPTER 6: IMPACTS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ON ABUSED WOMEN
Key Findings and Discussion
Physical Injuries 170
Mental disturbances 174
The exclusion from social networking 178
Effects on children 182
Adverse effects on women’s sense of self 191
Self-faith 195

Conclusions 201

CHAPTER 7: BARRIERS TO DISCLOSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Key Findings and Discussion
Women’s understanding on Islamic concepts about being ‘a good wife’ 203
Safeguarding the children’s interests 207
Self-blame and guilt 212
‘Local people’ perceptions 215
Women’s lack of knowledge regarding domestic violence resources 219

Conclusions 224

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