ANNUAL REPORT 2014 - Women's Aid Organisation

ANNUAL REPORT2014

CONTENT

02 Foreword03 What We Believe04 Strengthening Survivors15 Support Services for Ex Residents20 Advocating for Change25 Volunteers and Interns26 Public Education30 Fundraising33 WAO People

WAO is a well-established and well-known Malaysian non-profitorganisation for women survivors of domestic violence and their children,helping them regain lives of safety and empowerment.

We aim to end violence and discrimination against women in Malaysia.

2 WAO Annual Report 2014

“We must all work together toprotect, respond and help rebuild

women’s lives that have beenshattered by domestic violence.”

FOREWORD

Domestic violence against women is devastating, leaving women and theirchildren hopeless, isolated and at constant risk of serious harm. Webelieve every woman deserves a life that is safe, fulfilled and empowered,a life that is free from violence.

We help women rebuild their lives after experiencing domestic violence. In2014, we assisted almost 3,000 women survivors and their children invarious ways to regain their self-respect, independence and safety. Wealso advocated for policy change, legal reform and encouraged Malaysiansociety to become more aware and less tolerant of domestic violence andits debilitating effects.

We are determined to make positive change in Malaysia. We want to see acountry where women are protected from violence, where laws, lawenforcement, the judicial and public services are always available andmeaningful. We must all work together to protect, respond and helprebuild women’s lives that have been shattered by domestic violence.

We have worked for more than 32 years to achieve this. We will continueto work with survivors, people and groups in our community who believe,like us, that violence against women must end.

This Annual Report is all about our achievements in 2014 and the activitiesand people that made it possible. We have made good progress in keyareas. Yet, there is much more that needs to be done.

We end the year reaffirming our Mission and Vision to end violence anddiscrimination against women in Malaysia and invite you to join us on thisjourney.

WAO Exco and Staff


WHAT WE BELIEVEWe want to see positive change within society, government and for thewomen and children we serve. We have a clear Vision to create a societythat is free of violence against women. Our steadfast Mission is topromote and create respect, protection and fulfillment of equal rights forwomen, to work towards the elimination of discrimination against women,and to bring about equality between women and men.

We believe our Strategic Objectives will help us achieve this and guide us:

To provide on request to women and their children suffering frommental, physical and sexual abuse, temporary refuge services thatempower and enable them to determine their own future.

To offer emotional and social support to any women who request forit, resident or otherwise, and offer support and after-care.

To undertake and encourage research into any of the factors thatcontribute to the inequality and subordination of women.

To undertake and advocate with government and non-governmentorganisations the eradication of factors that contribute to theinequality and subordination of women through law, policy andinstitutional reforms.

To create an awareness and better understanding among individuals,public and relevant agencies on the issues of violence against womenand the underlying inequalities.

WAO strives to walk our talk. We have identified and are motivatedeveryday by our Core Values. In all that we do as a team, we always:

Act with Respect & Compassion

Ensure we are Non-judgmental and Inclusive

Act with Accountability

Are Courageous

Are Fun-loving and Professional


MEET ALIA*

Alia’s husband, often under theinfluence of alcohol, abused her andher children for years. Aside fromphysical abuse, Alia was also lockedup at home to prevent her fromgoing to work. There were also manyoccasions when she and her childrenwere left hungry and without food.Alia escaped from home and soughtshelter with WAO after many seriousincidences of abuse. She stayed forsix (6) months at the WAO Refugeand received counselling throughouther stay.

After Alia exited the Refuge, herchildren remained at the WAO ChildCare Centre while she rented a roomelsewhere and found a permanentjob. As she now earns a steadierincome, she has purchased a homeand she is now living with herchildren in their new home.

*Name has been changed to protectidentity

Our services for women survivors and their children lie at the heart ofWAO’s work. It also shapes and directs WAO’s advocacy in our quest toachieve substantive gender equality. There is a close link between thework done by our social workers and the immediate and long-termneeds of women survivors of domestic violence and their children. Theneed is immense and our response in 2014 aimed to meet as much ofthe need as we could, both for women in crisis and in recovery.

In our service, we focus on critical interventions that limit the adverseconsequences of domestic violence. We also empower and supportwomen survivors of domestic violence and their children:

Our Refuge is a crisis shelter that provides a temporary hometo almost 300 women and children each year, and offerscomprehensive support services. In 2014, we sheltered 169women and 131 children. The availability of our Refuge forthese 299 individuals ensured that they were not madehomeless following domestic violence or other crises theyendured. The Refuge is managed by our social workers.

The Child Care Centre is a transitional home for children ofsurvivors. On her request, we keep her children in the short-term, giving the survivor the time and support to viably re-establish a safe and independent life in the community of herchoice. In 2014, we sheltered, counseled and ensured access toeducation for 64 children while their mothers preparedsustainable and independent lives for them.

Social Work provides for individual case advocacy whichincludes comprehensive police action, legal representation,access to health and other public services for almost 3,000individuals each year. In 2014, our social workers followed thecases of 2,586 women and 194 children.

STRENGTHENINGSURVIVORS

The services provided byWomen’s Aid Organisation

strengthens survivors.


The statistics are staggering.Domestic violence affects one in

nine ever-partnered women inMalaysia (2014 study by Universiti

Sains Malaysia’s Centre forResearch on Women and Gender -KANITA). It is, or has been, a dailyreality for hundreds of thousands

of women in our country,impacting women’s right to life,right to safety, right to equality

and right to development.Domestic violence creates a web

of debilitating problems. It harmswomen physically, sexually,

emotionally, and has a significanteconomic consequence. It

unleashes inter-generationalviolence, when the abuse is either

witnessed or experienced bychildren. The services provided byour social workers aim to address

and unravel as much of thiscomplex web as we can.

WAO Counselling is multi-platform and is conducted by oursocial workers. It comprises individual sessions (Face-to-Face,Hotline, SMS text and email). Our Hotline received more than1,740 calls in 2014. In total, our counselling provided crisisintervention, safety planning and onward referrals for 2,306survivors.

Aftercare support programmes offer follow-up support to allformer Refuge residents and their children, in order toempower survivors to break the cycle of domestic violence andmaintain their independence. Our support programmesbenefited 60 women and 81 children in 2014. Theseprogrammes are run and coordinated by our social workers.

In 2014, our social workers impacted these numbers ofwomen:

Service Number

Refuge 169 women and131 children

Face-to-FaceCounselling (FFC)

111

FFC forRefugee Women

45

TelephoneCounselling

1,740

Email Enquiries 242

TINA SMSConversations

279

Child Care Centre(CCC)

64 children


1. THE REFUGEOur Refuge is one of the leadingMalaysian emergency shelter fordomestic violence survivors andsurvivors of other forms of violence.It provides a safe haven for anaverage of 90 days, during whichtime survivors receive intensivesocial work support and counselling.

It is a diverse and multicultural placeas it hosts residents with differentcultural backgrounds, nationalities,ethnicities and languages.Nevertheless, the women are ableto connect with each other as theyhave undergone similar situations.

Out of the 169 women sheltered in2014, 17 women were returning ex-residents and 152 were newresidents. There were five (5)women who returned to the Refuge,seeking shelter for the same reasonin the same year. The majority ofour Refuge residents wereMalaysians (76 women) while 18women were from Myanmar. Therest were from Indonesia, India,China, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq andKenya.

The Malaysian residents weremostly from Selangor and WilayahPersekutuan. 130 residents werebetween the ages of 20 and 39, 26residents were between the ages of40 and 49, seven (7) residents were50 and above and six (6) residentswere below 20 years.

We have partnered with UnitedNations High Commissioner forRefugees (UNHCR) and InternationalCatholic Migration Commission(ICMC) to provide shelter servicesfor refugee survivors of violence.We also utilized UNHCR and ICMCinterpretation services to enableeffective communications withthese refugees.

.

Our refugee clients numbered 31 women and 38 children in 2014.4

110 of the 169 women sheltered were survivors of domestic violence. Ourinterventions ensured 84 domestic violence survivors were able to findnew lives in safety and empowerment.

Service Number Percentage

Domestic violence 110 65.1

Single Pregnant Women 2 1.2

Rape Survivor 3 1.7

Abused MigrantDomestic Worker

3 1.7

Trafficked Women 41 24.3

No Place To Stay 5 3

Others 5 3

Total 169 100


Why did these 25 women return?

she wants to give her husband a chance

she cannot afford to live on her own

her husband has agreed to change

she worries about her children’s schooling

her husband’s attitudes improve after attending counselling

she receives threats from the perpetrator

her family member suffers with illness

she was caught by her husband

family members become the mediator and they had a discussion withher husband

she hopes that her husband will change after UNHCR’s intervention

she was pressured by family members

for the sake of her children’s safety

she wants to save her marriage and keep her family together

Return to the AbusiveHome25 women returned to their formersituation after careful considerationand weighing of options.

While ensuring appropriatecounselling to help women healemotionally and regain their self-confidence, WAO will always supportour clients in whatever decisionsthey make regarding their futures.We aim to ensure that the decisionsare informed and voluntary.

Women do decide to return to theabusive home for various reasons. Itis quite common for women to makemultiple attempts before finallyleaving the abusive situation forgood. The critical need is for WAO tostand ready to continue supportingwomen, in whatever choices theymake, and to ensure access toprotection and safety is alwaysavailable.

In 2014, 65 residents informed thatthey have left their abusivesituations at least once before. 21left and returned to the abusivehome more than five (5) times. Theyreconciled with their husbands forvarious reasons, especially afterintervention by family members.


THE DYNAMICS OFDOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Throughout 2014, we listened to the testimonies and experiences of courageouswomen survivors. We have not just responded to the needs of these survivors,but we have also learnt from their experiences and recorded them. These storiesinform us of important factors, trends and gaps. It helps us to not only understandthe dynamics of domestic violence in Malaysia, but to also frame and propel ouradvocacy work.

In 2014, the most prevalent source of abuse was the intimate partner (husband orboyfriend). The most prevalent form of abuse was psychological. This mirrorsprevious years.

In 2014, women in our Refuge described multiple forms of abuse:

Psychological abuse (100%)Physical abuse (95.4%)Social abuse (56%)Financial abuse (55%)Sexual abuse (35.8%)

This year’s data continued to demonstrate that psychological abuse is the mostcommon form of domestic violence, impacting the survivors as adversely asphysical violence.

Financial abuse was also rampant (55%). Women shared that their husbandswould take their money while not providing them with the financial means to takecare of the family. Abusive husbands also took financial loans in the woman’sname and did not subsequently service those loans. This plunged women intodebt and blacklisting by financial institutions. These women were severelyeconomically disadvantaged even though gainfully employed, thereby restrictingtheir financial independence even after leaving the abusive situation.

Approximately 24% of the women reported that the perpetrators abused themwith no associated triggering issues. A large number, approximately 96.3%, citedvarious factors as being triggering factors for the abuse such as jealousy,suspicions and financial problems. Substance abuse by the perpetrator was also afactor, including alcohol (31.2%) and drugs (12.8% reported substance abuseinvolving mainly ”ice”, “shabu”, “ubat batuk”). Most of the time, women reporteda mix of triggering factors such as a jealous and suspicious husband, abusing themwhile under the influence of alcohol.

It is also important to highlight that 48.6% of the perpetrators and 33.3% of thesurvivors have a history of violence in their family. Only 22.9% of the women didnot have knowledge on whether the perpetrators grew up in an abusive familyenvironment. The husband or ex-husband perpetrated the abuse for 79.8% ofresidents, while parents, family members or boyfriends were the source of abusefor 16.5%. One woman reported her father-in-law as the perpetrator. 16.5% ofthe women also reported being abused by a second perpetrator such as parent,sibling, stepparent, in-law family member or relative.


Single PregnantWomenWAO shelters women who getpregnant and do not have thesupport from their boyfriends,family or community.

There were two (2) singlepregnant women sheltered in ourRefuge throughout 2014(compared to 7 in 2013). Theywere between the ages of 19 to39. All of them were unemployed.

During their stay at the Refuge,we ensured the women receivedpre-natal check-ups on a regularbasis and given information onnutrition, pre-natal and post-natalcare. We carefully supportedthem through the entire process.Since they are first-time mothers,they were also given counsellingon their rights and how to dealwith the stigma anddiscrimination that they mightface. They were also briefed aboutthe options available to them andtheir babies.

The two (2) women said they hadsome knowledge about familyplanning, but none of them usedcontraceptives. One (1) of thembelieved that she would not getpregnant and one (1) informedthat she were unaware of familyplanning options and did notknow how to use a condom.

One (1) woman opted to give herbaby up for adoption either topeople whom they knew or tocouples selected by the medicalsocial workers at the hospital andwelfare department. One (1)woman planned to keep theirbabies.

Abused MigrantDomestic WorkersThree (3) migrant domesticworkers sought shelter in 2014from Indonesia and India. Theworkers were physically andpsychologically abused, theirwages were not paid, theirdocuments were withheld andthey were deprived of food. Weengaged with the respectiveembassies, police and immigrationdepartment to ensure the womenreceived protection and care fromthe law and their own diplomaticmissions.

Social workers successfullynegotiated with the employers toretrieve unpaid wages andwithheld passports. We workedclosely with the Indian HighCommission, who assisted ourclients to return home safely. One(1) client was able to continueworking in Malaysia with adifferent employer. Another clientwas transferred to the Anti-Trafficking In Persons (ATIP)shelter to enable prosecutionunder the ATIP Act (highersentencing for the perpetrator ispossible under this Act).

Trafficked WomenTrafficking for labour and sexwork is a serious issue inMalaysia. Women enter thecountry legally but end up with noproper papers, deplorableworking conditions and very lowor no wages. All of them weredeceived, led to believe that theywill receive a good wage withtheir work permits organised. Allpaid agents in their home countryto come to Malaysia to work, onlyto find themselves in a situation of

being trafficked.

In 2014, we assisted 41 suchwomen. They were aged between18 and 54 years. Most of themwere referred by their respectiveembassies. Among them, 24 werebrought in as domestic helpers,three (3) as labour workers andone (1) as a foreign bride. 13 wereforced by the agent or multipleagents into sex work.

28 of the residents were safelyrepatriated back to their countryof origin. Nine (9) of the residentsreceived protection from UNHCRand they were granted refugeestatus. These women werewaiting to be resettled in the thirdcountry. Others remained atWAO.


2. COUNSELLING

TelephonecounsellingWe attended to 1,740 calls in 2014.This was a reduction from last year’s1,964 calls, owing to capacity issues(which will be addressed in 2015).Most of the calls were aboutdomestic violence issues while otherscalled about legal matters, sexualharassment and pregnancy whilesome called to express theiremotions to someone willing tolisten. Most of the clients are fromthe Klang Valley although there werecalls from other states includingJohor, Negeri Sembilan and Perak.We also received calls from othercountries, which we referred to theappropriate agencies abroad.

Face-to-FaceCounsellingWe counseled 111 women inindividual, direct sessions (Face-to-Face) in 2014 (compared to 125 inthe previous year). These sessionswere held at the WAO Centre or the3rd Centre as it is commonly known.Some of the clients required directsessions as they were unable tospeak openly over the phone (lack ofprivacy or to avoid being observed bythe abuser). Some felt morecomfortable in a face-to-face settinginstead of talking on the phone. Theirproblems were similar to those whocalled in for telephone counseling.

Email EnquiriesThere was an increase of four (4)email enquiries in 2014 compared tothe previous years. We received anaverage of 20 emails per month and

a total of 242 emails by the end of 2014. Some of the emails were follow-upemails from the same person.

The public sends emails to request information about our services,procedures on getting birth certificates, welfare aid, shelter homes, housingand even crisis issues. WAO is currently a popular option for studentsresearching on women’s issues requesting for interviews and information onviolence against women, women’s rights movement in Malaysia, singlepregnant women and sexual harassment among other issues.

WAO ensures that all emails are responded to immediately. As emails are avery one-dimensional mode of communication, the language and tone thatthe message carries are given utmost priority to ensure that the clients feelreassured and get the support that they need.

TINA SMS HelplineIn March 2014, WAO launched a new SMS helpline service named as TINA“Think I Need Aid”. TINA offers women the opportunity to reach out for helpvia SMS as some may not be comfortable, or able to call the helpline. TINAalso serves as a ‘friend’ for women who need to talk about their problemsbefore taking actions.

By end of 2014, TINA has attended to 279 unique SMS conversations fromclients. Due to the publicity in June, TINA replied to 64 SMS conversations(32.9%) in that month alone. 50% or 169 SMS conversations were aboutdomestic violence while 23.3% or 65 SMS conversations were on non-domestic violence issues such as financial or homelessness or issues thatcould not be identified due to lack of clarification by the clients.


SentencingA domestic violence case wasinitially opened under S325(voluntarily causing grievoushurt) but dropped to S323(voluntarily causing hurt) andthe perpetrator was sentencedto RM1,000. Anotherperpetrator was charged underS323 (voluntarily causing hurt)and was instructed to do three(3) months social service andordered to pay RM4,000compensation to the victim. Inanother case under S323, theperpetrator was punished witha RM1,000 fine. In addition, avictim was asked to give aVictim Impact Statement (VIS),which resulted in a moresevere punishment for theperpetrator.

The Penal Code provides forimprisonment for a maximumof 1 year, or fine of RM2,000,or both under S323. S325carries a punishment ofimprisonment of a maximum ofseven (7) years and fine.

3. OBTAININGPROTECTION,SEEKING JUSTICE

Survivors and the PoliceWAO advocates for better access tojustice for survivors of violence. Inthis capacity, WAO social workersassist survivors to report domesticviolence crimes to the police.Women are guided on how to makedetailed police reports and how togive their statements.

This year, 65 residents reportedthat they had lodged police reportsbefore approaching WAO. Duringtheir stay at WAO, social workersassisted 17 women to make policereports. Some of these reportswere follow-up reports as they havemade incorrect reports or neededto give additional information.

Out of those who made policereports, 28 women requested foran Interim Protection Order (IPO).15 women successfully receivedtheir IPOs. The rest wereunsuccessful because the police didnot open investigation deemingtheir cases not serious enough.WAO continues to lobby for betterpolice response for survivors ofdomestic violence.

Survivors in Court2014 had been a busy year for WAOwith frequent visits to the courts toensure justice is given to survivorsof violence. Not all of the reporteddomestic violence cases werebrought to court for various reasons(i.e. lack of evidence, case classifiedas No Further Action, etc). Even ifcases were heard in court, theprocess could be long, time-consuming and emotionallydraining for victim survivors ofdomestic violence. Hence, it is

crucial for survivors to receivesupport in their quest to accessjustice.

Last year, WAO accompanied 46clients to attend 85 court hearingsor mentions. Out of the 85hearings, 30 were for domesticviolence related offences, 13 wereto obtain Interim Protection Orders(IPOs), three (3) were to obtainProtection Orders (POs), 14 werefor divorce-related matters, 24were for custody-related mattersand one (1) for registration ofmarriage.

WAO noted the highest punishmentmeted by a court for a domesticviolence related offence under S324of the Penal Code (voluntarilycausing hurt by dangerous weaponsor means) as 36 months jail and six(6) strokes. WAO continued toprovide support for the family andmonitor the domestic violencemurder court hearings in the caseof Nurhidayah Abdul Ghani, awoman who was allegedly beatento death by her husband, adomestic violence perpetrator.WAO followed 14 court hearingsthat took place throughout the yearfor this case.

WAO has also attended 14 divorceproceedings and 24 custodyproceedings. One (1) high profilecase that WAO has been assistingclosely was the case of S. Deepa, aHindu mother whose children wereunilaterally converted to Islam andwhose son was abducted by her ex-husband. Advocacy for S. Deepaincluded meeting with the AttorneyGeneral twice to ask for policeaction on a court order that grantedS. Deepa to be reunited with herabducted son. WAO Child CareCentre was also granted temporarycustody by the court over thechildren from two families, whilethe court is preparing to grantcustody to the mother.


4. PROGRAMMES FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN

Women’s ProgrammesIn 2014, various activities and programmes were carried out for the women at the refuge.

Many of the activities and programmes were supported by various partnering organisations such as Quota Club,Soroptimist International and Klinik Kesihatan Jaya.

Through our diverse volunteers, interns and partners, we were able to design a wide variety of programmes and eventscatering to the many different interests of the women living in our shelter. Programmes such as baking lessons, yogalessons, beading lessons, kitchen remedies, English language classes and computer classes were held almost weekly,complemented by talks on breast-feeding, breast cancer awareness, general health and hygiene talks. We alsoconducted occasional educational outings to locations such as the Kidzania, Arowana Beauty Spa, Berry ChocolateFactory, Vitagen Factory, and movies at the Golden Screen Cinemas, Mid Valley.

We also run an economic empowerment programme, “Back to Work”. Women residents who had secured a job aresupported through small loans of RM100 - RM300 to be used for transport, food allowance and clothing. Eight (8)women benefited from the programme in 2014.

There were two special educational programmes in 2014. Firstly, “Choose2Protect” an education programme sponsoredby Durex that engaged trainers from the Federation of Reproductive Health Association (FRHAM) and WAO to conduct aseries of sex and reproductive education sessions with our residents. In collaboration with Klinik Kesihatan, free medicalcheck-ups and HIV tests were given to our women.

Our Annual Gathering was held in December. 150 residents, 55 families, ex-residents and their children attended the gettogether for fun, food, gifts and games.

Special thanks to Vivienne Lee, Annie Ng, Koochithressia K.Thomas, Dr Goh Huay Yee, Dr Prema Latha, Elaine Lee, WongAlicia and also Thressia for their dedication and efforts in carrying out these programmes. Not forgetting our interns for2014, Loheswary Arumugam, Susanna Kattein, Lee Shealin, Tavleeen Tarrant, Tay Chin Chin, Charlyne KatharinaHochreitar, Hadiza Isa Ahmad, Nodumo Nyathi, and Aminath Shaheeda.


Children’s ProgrammesChildren Activities

At the Refuge, a pocket file is given to everychild to hold her personal belongings andbooks. The children are also given workbookson English language, Bahasa Malaysia, Scienceand Mathematics to facilitate learning. In2014, we took children on outings to theVitagen Factory, Berry Chocolate Factory, andKidzania to enhance their learning experience.

Interns Loheswary Arumugam, SusannaKattein, Lee Shealin, Tavleeen Tarrant, TayChin Chin, Charlyne Katharina Hochreitar,Hadiza Isa Ahmad, Nodumo Nyathi and alsoAminath Shaheeda lent a big hand in helpingthe kids.

Child Assessments

The children were assessed to gauge theimpact of their home environment. Socialworkers who were not in charge of theirmothers’ cases were assigned to the task oftalking to them so that one family was beingtaken care of by more than one social worker.Based on the child assessments, childrenworkshops were organised to addressidentified needs.

Therapy for Children

Therapeutic Play or Play Therapy was startedby WAO for children of women survivors. From15 November 2014, the WAO Child CareCentre started conducting therapeutic play forchildren living in the WAO Refuge. For moreinformation, please see section on Child CareCentre.

This year, 130 children lived at ourRefuge with their mothers. Thechildren’s ages ranged fromnewborns to 18 years old. Theycame from various degrees ofabusive situations and were also inneed of physical, psychological andsocial support.


5. ASYLUM-SEEKERSAND REFUGEES

Collaboration withUNHCROur work with the office of theUnited Nations HighCommissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) began in 2003. WAOgives counselling services towomen refugees at UNHCRpremises on alternate Tuesdays.

In 2014, WAO provided 43counselling sessions for refugeewomen at UNHCR. These casesinvolved rape, attempted rape,sexual harassment, depressionand domestic violence. Therewere also other issues such asdifficulty coping living in Malaysia.

In 2014, UNHCR continued toapproach WAO to provide shelterservices for their refugee womenwho have suffered from Gender-Based Violence. UNHCR referredseven (7) refugee women and five(5) children for shelter. Amongthem, four (4) were domesticviolence survivors, two (2) weretrafficked and one (1) was forsecurity reason.

In December, WAO conductedone day training for UNHCR’sinterpreters from all departmentsto create awareness on issuesrelated to Gender-Based Violence(GBV).

Collaboration withICMCWAO continued our collaborationwith the International CatholicMigration Commission (ICMC).This programme started inOctober 2010 with the aim torecruit 25 women from various

refugee communities to form aRefugee Women Protection Corps(RWPC). The RWPC will in turnraise awareness in theircommunity on Gender-BasedViolence (GBV) issues and provideassistance for refugees who faceSexual and Gender-basedViolence (SGBV).

WAO was contracted to conductTraining of Trainers’ workshopsfor refugee women who wererecruited under the RWPC bycommunity leaders. WAO alsoconducted awareness training onGender-Based Violence issue forcommunity leaders. Besides theusual training, ICMC had alsoengaged WAO to conduct a 24-hour training to assist thecommunity in building a team ofpeer counsellor to assist survivorsof GBV.

Due to the overwhelming demandfrom the refuge communities,ICMC engaged WAO to assistthem in developing a pool of peercounsellors. WAO provided themwith a thirty hours training,through which the participantswill be trained on basiccounselling skills to enable themto provide psychological first aidvia ICMC’s helpline or during theirhouse to house visit. After thetrainings, participants will beevaluated. In 2014, WAO trained15 participants and five of themwere selected to become ICMC’speer counsellor.

In 2014, ICMC approached WAOto provide shelter services forsurvivors who were identified bythe RWPC. ICMC referred 24refugee women and 33 childrenfor shelter – all from differentethics group from Myanmar.Among them, most were domesticviolence survivors (15), eight (8)

were trafficked and one (1) wastrafficked.

6. LEGAL AIDCLINIC – KL (KUALALUMPUR BAR)The Legal Aid Clinic KL Bar has agreat programme for futurelawyers. They spend 12 daysduring their chambering period atvarious NGOs so that they can get“real” experiences before they gointo the legal workforce.

Prior coming to WAO, thechambering students were trainedin three main areas; syariah law,family law and NGO work. Syariahand family law trainings areconducted by LAC-KL whereas theWomen NGOs’ training isconducted by Sisters In Islam (SIS),All Women's Action Society(AWAM) and WAO at WAO’spremises. From WAO, MeeraSamanther conducted session onFeminism while Wong Su Zaneand Nazlina bt Ab Ghaniconducted session on HelpingProcess and Case Management.

In 2014, we had 10 chamberingstudents - Maryam bt Khalizan,Lim Yvonne, Tan Saw Bee, Chan LiAnn, Noriha bt Mohamed, Koo ShuLeen, Giffin Lee Weon Li, FeliciaChua Shin Yi, Goh Wan Ping,Rachael Tan who came once aweek for 12 weeks in a stretch.Each chambering student handledtelephone calls, face-to-faceinterviews, they documentedcases and compiled statistical dataof residents and ex-residents.They also accompanied some ofthe women to the courts, policestations and clinics.

These young future lawyers wereenergetic and were keen inhelping the women.


SUPPORTSERVICES

FOR EXRESIDENTS

The Refuge was established to cater to women incrisis situations who needed a safe haven for herselfand her children. When a woman decides to lead anindependent life away from violence, she facesmany challenges - she has to cope with finding a job,housing, childcare and earning enough money tosupport her family.

WAO realised this as far back as June 1985, when wedeveloped the Anak Angkat Programme to assistwomen who decided to live autonomously.Subsequently, we set up the Child Care Centre in1990.

Single mothers have a right to institutional support.Based on the experiences of the women we assist,WAO lobbies for the government to set upaffordable child care centres, provide low-costhousing and financial support for survivors ofdomestic violence.

1. THE CHILD CARE CENTRE(CCC)The CCC is a very special children’s home, whichsolely caters for the children of our clients who hadsought shelter at the Refuge. The children may havewitnessed the domestic violent incidents or be thevictim of the violence themselves. CCC serves as asafe and temporary home for the children up to 16years old, to allow their mother to rebuild their life,secure a stable job, have some savings, andeventually having a home so that they can livetogether with their children as a family.

The number of children in our facility is kept to amaximum of 15 so they can be given specialised careand attention by a group of dedicated and trained fulltime staff consisting of a social worker and three (3)child-minders who work on rotation basis. Socialworker will help the mothers with regards to schooltransfer and kindergarten enrolment.

As the end aim is to unite the mothers with theirchildren, mothers are encourage to visit or stay overduring weekends or on their off days every week andspend quality time with their children. They are alsoencouraged to call and speak with their children asoften as possible. This is an important reassurance tothe children that their mother still love and care aboutthem dearly and are very much in touch with their life.Mothers take their children home during schoolholidays unless they have yet to establish their ownhome.


Duration of Stay at CCC in 2014Less than 1 week 32 children2 Weeks 6 children6 Weeks 4 children1 Month 4 children2 Month 3 children4 Months 2 children5 Months 3 children6 months 2 children9 Months 3 children10 Months 1 children16 Months 1 children17 Months 3 childrenTOTAL 64 children

Number of ChildrenIn 2014, the total number of children who sought CCC services is64 children. Out of 64 children, 29 are registered and 35 came toCCC for emergency (of which seven came to CCC two times).Emergency cases refer to cases where the children from theRefuge were moved to CCC due to cleaning at the Refuge or highrisk cases where CCC serves as a temporary place to receivesafety and protection. The total number of children who soughtshelter at the CCC in 2013 was 32 children.

The table on the right shows the number of children and thelength of their stay.

Non Malaysian Children / RefugeeIn 2014, from the 29 children who were registered at the CCC,seven (7) children came from different country or refugees. Outof the seven (7) children, six (6) were from Myanmar and one (1)was from Pakistan. In 2013 we have eight (8) refugee childrenstaying at CCC.

Breakdown of number of children at CCC 2014Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Number ofchildrenbeginning of themonth 4 8 8 10 10 10 12 13 13 12 14 15New children 4 1 2 0 0 2 7 0 0 5 0 4For emergency 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 3 2 1 17 7Total 8 9 13 10 10 12 21 16 15 18 31 26Number ofchildren leavingfor the month 0 1 3 0 0 0 8 3 3 4 16 13Total 8 8 10 10 10 12 13 13 12 14 15 13Children onwaiting list 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 2Age breakdownBelow 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 2 1 3 8 8Age 3 to 6 2 3 5 4 4 5 9 8 8 5 7 6Age 7 to 9 3 3 4 4 4 5 7 4 4 5 8 6Age 10 to 12 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 2 2 5 8 6Age 13 to 15 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0


2. CHILDREN’SPROGRAMMES

Home Schooling andTuitionOut of the 29 registered children at the CCC,22 children attended home schooling. Childrenwere home schooled because some of themwere refugees, under six (6) years old, stayingat the CCC for a short period of time orconcerned about the children’s safety.

Home schooling is categorized into twogroups. One is for kindergarten children (3 – 6years old) and the other one is for elementarychildren (7– 12 years old). Home school andtuition starts from 9.00am – 12.00pm and from2.00pm – 4.00pm. Children who were homeschooled were taught by CCC staff, interns andvolunteers.

We would like to put on record our thanks andappreciation to these interns and volunteerswho have taught the children:

Interns:Loshini Veera Senan, Lavanya Haridas, AriedZafwan Rohaizat, Sharon Jaya Shalini, NurulAsyikin Zainal Abidin, Nodumo Nyathi andYana Vizayer.

Volunteers:Fellicia Ong, Sarah Saram, Lor Kar Mun,Sekheena Deslorreux, Lee Mabel, Loshanii DeviGanendrah, Girlie Pereira, Aqilah Sulaiman,Joanna Payne and UTAR Student (Wilson,Marche, Ker Xing, Qi Ling, Racy, Siong Ting,Jennie, Kar Yan) .

Tuition:Sangeetha Selvanathan

Extracurricular ActivitiesOther than providing education throughschool, tuition and home schooling, CCC alsoorganizes extracurricular activities for children.A variety of these activities were conducted byeither group or individual volunteers. Theextracurricular activities are:

Smile Buddy ProgrammeThe Smile Buddy Programme was coordinated by our volunteerUrmila Dass and her students. The programme aims to build andcreate solidarity and mutual help among participants, increaseself-esteem, improve social skills and learn to build trust andcooperate with one another. The programme was held twice amonth, every alternate Sunday from January until May 2014.

Segi Kota Damansara CollegeProgramme

A group of students from Segi College organized a variety ofactivities and tutoring twice a month on weekends for CCCchildren. They came every Saturday on the 2nd and 4th week,starting from February until August 2014. We would like to thankthese volunteers for teaching and conducting activities with theCCC children.

Volunteers: Rushanthine Velayutham, Shera Choo Yen Qi, VanajaSupramaniam, Lau Sui Xin, Chong Zi Xuan, Siti Sarah Zainal,Sharieza Sahrudin, Safa Hamed Mansoor, Kavita Mahendran andNasteho Awaleh Ahmed.

English Reading Class

Since November 2014, a group of dedicated volunteers Lee ChingChing, Cindy Tan and Lee Chiew Mui had been conducting Englishreading classes for the CCC children. CCC children received one toone lesson to ensure they receive personal and good guidance inEnglish comprehension. The classes were held on Saturdays, twicea month.

3. COUNSELLING AND THERAPY

Counselling

All children at CCC will have access to counselling sessions with asocial worker. During a session, the social worker will work on thebasis of attending to the children’s six (6) needs which are physical,behavioral, emotional, psychological, cognitive / intellectual andsocial.

Sand TherapyStarting January 2014, CCC has offered Sand Therapy for childrenwho need extra attention on their needs. The sand therapy wasconducted by a professional therapist from Enrich Counselling and


Therapy Centre at Puchong andTherapist Shealin Lee. In 2014, wehave five (5) children whoreceived sand therapy services.Three (3) children had theirtherapy sessions with Shealin Leeand two (2) children receivedtherapy from Enrich Counsellingand Therapy Centre.

Therapeutic Play

From 15 November 2014, CCCstarted conducting therapeuticplay for children from both CCCand Refuge. A play therapy roomwas constructed to conduct thesessions. The play therapysessions aim to help childrendevelop a more positive self-concept, assume greater self-responsibility, self-accepting, self-directing, self-reliant, trusting ofself, experience a feeling ofcontrol, sensitive to the process ofcoping, develop an internal sourceof evaluation and engage in self-determined decision making.Through a play, children areexpressing the individuality oftheir personalities and drawingupon inner resources which canbecome incorporated into theirpersonality. From November 2014until December 2014, a total of 11children received play therapy andhave attended 33 sessions. Theplay therapy sessions wereconducted by Firkah Jenal and LifeLine Association’s volunteers.Each child will attend 10 - 12sessions (each session is 45minutes).

We would like to thank Life LineGroup for sponsoring the toys andtheir volunteers for conductingtherapy sessions for WAOchildren.

Life Line Therapist Volunteers :

Lim Soo Kiam, Yap Sook Ling,Grace Wong Wai Fong and ChinHon Mui

4. ANAK ANGKATPROGRAMMEThe rising cost of living puts anumber of single mothers infinancial strain. Since the arduoustask of providing food, clothes,shelter, education and healthcarefor their children falls squarely ontheir shoulders, single mothersare often facing a tough time toensure that their children’s basicneeds are all met adequately.

Due to this, WAO has taken uponitself to provide a platform wherethese mothers may have financialassistance. This is possiblethrough the participation ofgenerous sponsors in the AnakAngkat Sponsorship programme.The contributions of thesesponsors who volunteered toprovide financial assistance ofRM70 per month to each singlemother, most of whom wereformer residents in WAO’s refuge,have indeed became a source ofrelief for them.

In the year 2014, a total of 34families were involved in thisprogramme and 71 children havebenefited from the financial aidprovided by the sponsors. Thesefunds went into the provision ofbasic education and dailymaintenance of each sponsoredchild. A social work officer fromWAO acts as a medium ofcommunication between thesponsors and sponsored children.Sponsors may keep an activeinterest in the development oftheir sponsored children throughthe provision of the children’s

academic reports, which aremailed to them twice a year. Thesteadfast support of the sponsorsis highly encouraging with somesponsors volunteering to sponsormore than one child. This is atrend which WAO ardently hopeswill continue to grow - allmembers of the public areencouraged to participate in, andcontribute, to the Anak AngkatSponsorship programme.

The list of sponsors whosponsored one child:Arne HaynAnn BrockettBilly AkunnaBrenda L.P CheneryCh’ng Ai JianFong Ju LiGunathevi SinnaduraiIndra KulasegaranKamariah Mohd. AliKishotharan a/l SaniraanKon Cze YanLeon KoayLim Feok LoongLim Hui RuLinda LimMok Tuang WahNoor Suraya binti AkhbarPaul James SapwellShirin Binti IsmailSu Lee Soon Nee YeoSubashini SelvaratnamSamantha YewSubashiniSundari a/p AnnamalaiSheela VasudevanTashia PetersonTan Chwee GekTan Swee MiTan Mian LeeToh Yung FeiVenkata ChellamVincent Quah Soon Chooi

These are the sponsors whosponsored more than one child:Soroptomist International Clubof Damansara (5 children)


Soroptomist International Clubof Shah Alam (3 children)Nariza Hashim Petra (4 children)Renee Marcia Chandran(3 children)Shamala Nair (2 children)Iskandar Hashim/Christa(2 children)Y.M. Tunku Abang Faisal Amir(2 children)Tracy Toh (2 children)

5. TUN TAN SIEW SINMEMORIAL FUND(TTSS)Upon the passing away of ourpatron Tun Tan Siew Sin in 1988,the TTSS Memorial Fund was setup in 1990 to provide financialassistance in the form of anominal sum to help the womenset up new homes or start a smallbusiness. Loans ranging fromRM300 to RM1,000 were offeredto our ex-residents. In 2014, three(3) women benefited from thisfund. There is a balance ofRM18,009 in TTSS Memorial Fundas of 31 December.

6. LEGAL AID FUNDServices of lawyers are crucial incustody issues but these servicescan be expensive. With the aninitial amount of RM40,000 – thefunds obtained from Hong Kongbased Morgan Parker’s Wheel toWheel project - we began a LegalAid Fund in 2012 to assist womenwho have to go to court. In theusual case, the recipients do nothave the financial means toemploy lawyers and they areunable to wait for the services oflawyers from the Legal Aid Centreor Legal Aid Bureau, due to the

urgency of their cases. Thesecases are usually about obtainingcustody of their children. In 2014,1 woman applied for, andreceived money from the LegalAid Fund. In total, WAO gave outRM2,000 in 2014. There werebalance of 29,675 in Legal AidFund.

7. FLIGHT FUNDThe flight fund has beenintroduced in order to providefinancial assistant for the migrantwomen to purchase flight ticket ifthey wish to return to their homecountry. In view of increasingdemand of trafficked victim whosought help at WAO, the flightfund has been extended toprovide financial assistant toinclude helping the women forsettling compound for overstaying, getting special passes, tocover to domestic travel expensesand some pocket money to bringhome in compensating loss ofsalary. In total, WAO gaveout RM6,900 for 28 women in2014.

8. SPONSORSHIPAND DONATIONSIn 2014, we received manydonations in-kind from individualsand groups. Almost every month,the CCC would receive a call froman ex-resident, a volunteer orpeople who know about us to saythat they wanted to provide ameal for our children. We wouldlike to thank: the Dinash familyand friends, NantheniSubramaniam from Luther Clinic,Mrs.Magesh (ex CCC residencemother), Lavanya Haridas and

family, Mdm Latta, Mary Selinaand family and friends as well asRonald McDonald Food AidFoundation.

Besides food, CCC also receivedgrocery items, household goods,school related items, clothes,toys, mattresses and bed-sheets.Our gratitude to Corrine Gomisand friends, Carol Chin andfriends, Sathya Sai BabaOrganisation of Malaysia, Ten ChuMen, Farasha Tariq Choqi,Michelle Ong Swee Poh, Shreen,Meena, Suet Wai, Fara and Sofi.

During each festival period e.g.Hari Raya, Chinese New Year orDeepavali, our childrenconsistently receive gifts fromkind and generous donors. Lastyear, the children had a great timeattending Christmas parties andreceiving gifts from Carol Chin andfriends, Corrine Gomis and familyand friends, Quota Club and YWCAPetaling Jaya. The children alsocelebrated Christmas withMercedes Benz Malaysia at TheSchool, Jaya One and theyreceived bags of goodies fromLynn, Jasmine Low, Shaz, Manu,Sukhjit, Sharon, Kimberly, AmandaYip, Nani, Baizura, Ruth,SweeYueng, Mei Fen, StefanJanther, Fareen and Melisa.


ADVOCATINGFOR CHANGEWAO’s 2014 advocacy programmes

comprehensively engaged all relevantstakeholders and partners (domestic,

regional and international) on key issuesaffecting the situation of gender equality

in Malaysia.

1. IMPROVING NATIONAL LAWSAND POLICIES

Working Committee to ReviewLaws on Violence andDiscrimination Against WomenIn September 2013 WAO, with the Joint Action Groupfor Gender Equality (JAG), launched a campaign toimprove national laws related to violence againstwomen and discrimination against women.

We engaged multiple stakeholders in the Executiveand Legislative branches of Government, includingMembers of Parliament, the de facto Minister of Law,and the Attorney General. JAG worked closely withthe Women’s Parliamentary Caucus.

As a result and following the proposal of WAO viaJAG, a multi-stakeholder working committee (theWorking Committee to Review Laws on Violence andDiscrimination Against Women) consisting ofwomen’s NGOs, government bodies such as theMinistry of Women, Family and CommunityDevelopment and Polis Diraja Malaysia, and the BarCouncil was formed. Chaired by the AttorneyGeneral, the working committee was tasked toreview and reform laws on violence anddiscrimination against women.

In 2013 and 2014, the working committee met fivetimes and produced and discussed several draft bills.While the work of the working committee continues,several positive amendments to laws on violence

have been agreed upon, including proposedamendments to the Domestic Violence Act 2014, thePenal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, theEvidence Act, and the Evidence of Child Witness Act.

WAO looks forward to the finalising and tabling ofthese progressive amendments on laws pertaining toviolence against women in 2015.

Engaging LawmakersIn addition to the working committee, WAO, withJAG, has continued engagement with the Women’sParliamentary Caucus on law reform priorities, byconducting two (2) briefings for Members ofParliament.

The Women’s Parliamentary Caucus consists of the21 women Members of Parliament.

Improving Domestic ViolencePoliciesWAO has continued to engage with the Ministry ofWomen, Family and Community Development toimprove and finalise standard operating proceduresfor government agencies responding to domesticviolence. This Working Together Document processbegan in 2012.

WAO and JAG’s inputs have enhanced the draftdocument, though the document is yet to be finalisedand adopted by the government.


Changing Atitudes#NoExcuseForAbuseOn 8 March 2014, in conjunction with theInternational Women’s Day, WAO launched its#NoExcuseForAbuse campaign. The campaignfeatured two (2) components, namely publiceducation and direct service.

The public education strategy aimed to createawareness about domestic violence through anart exhibition and public serviceannouncements by targeting the earlier phaseof abuse before it snowballs. The direct servicecomponent was the launch of a SMS helplineto encourage women to reach out to WAO’svirtual friend called TINA, which stands for“Think I Need Aid”.

The campaign is partially sponsored by theEmbassy of the United States in Kuala Lumpur,and supported by TBWA Kuala Lumpur, StudioDL, Publika, Hero Market, Sunway Pyramid,Geographer Café, Melaka and Mesra Mall,Terengganu.

Installation Art ExhibitionThe installation art exhibition was launchedand displayed in Publika from 8 until 17 March2014. On the launch day, a public educationbooth was set up. Volunteers distributed 200#NoExcuseForAbuse t-shirts to members of thepublic who pledged their support for thecampaign. Volunteers engaged with membersof the public to raise awareness about thesigns of domestic abuse.

The installation art exhibition constituted adisplay of blouses featuring the thoughts ofvictim survivors when they experience abuse.Examples included: “He loves me too much.That’s why he keeps me in the house all day”,and“Don’t worry, I’ll leave him the next time hehits me”. The dresses also featured a label toemphasise that there is no excuse for abuse,whether physical, verbal or emotional. TheSMS helpline 018 988 8058 is featured on theitems of clothing.

Installation art exhibitions were also held in Hero Market, SunwayPyramid, Jonkers Street (Melaka), Paradigm Mall, 1Borneo Mall(Sabah), and KB Mall (Kelantan). Flash exhibitions were held inKLCC Park, in KL Sentral station, outside Sunway Lagoon, outsideSunway Pyramid, and in Taman Rimba TTDI.

Pledge of Support by All PoliticiansOn 8 March 2014, WAO released a press release featuringphotographs of four women Members of Parliament pledging theirsupport for the #NoExcuseForAbuse campaign. The women MPswore the #NoExcuseForAbuse t-shirt and their photographs wereuploaded to WAO’s social media and their own social media.

WAO also uploaded photographs of everyday women who weresupportive of the goals of the campaign wearing the t-shirts.

TINAWAO launched TINA (Think I Need Aid) SMS helpline on 8 March2014. SMS is a medium which provides a veil of anonymity forsurvivors who may not be ready to speak to someone directly, andmay find calling a helpline to bea barrier. TINA is expected toappeal to the younger generation who prefers an informal chatwith a friend rather than speaking to counsellors or social workers.

A radio public service announcement was recorded to publicise theSMS helpline, and was aired on Lite FM, Mix FM, Sinar FM, MelodyFM, THR Gegar, Red FM, 988 FM and Suria FM.

In 2014, 279 unique clients have SMSed TINA seeking advice.


Media coverageand online reachThe #NoExcuseForAbusecampaign was featured in TheStar on 7 and 14 March 2014,and also in The New StraitsTimes, The Malay Mail Online,The Heat, MSN Malaysia,Marketing Magazine, CampaignBrief Asia, Red FM and THRRaaga event announcementspage, and Mumbrella Asia.

The press release on TINApublished on 23 May 2014 wasgiven coverage in Bernama, TheNew Straits Times, The SunDaily, The Malay Mail Online,China Press, Berita Harian, SinChew Daily, Astro Awani Online,RTM, FZ.com, The Edge Onlineand Free Malaysia Today.

3. INFLUENCINGREGIONALSTANDARDS

Terms of referencefor the ASEANIntergovernmentalCommission onHuman RightsThe terms of reference (TOR) forthe ASEAN IntergovernmentalCommission on Human Rights(AICHR) are revised every five (5)years—and for the first time in2014. WAO, along with otherhuman rights groups in thecountry and region, advocated forimproved provisions in the TOR.

Together with the SEA Women’sCaucus on ASEAN, WAO draftedand submitted written feedbackto AICHR. A WAO representativewas also a national delegate to aregional consultation with AICHRon the TOR review. The revisedTOR will be finalised at the ASEANForeign Ministers’ Meeting in2015.

4. UPHOLDINGINTERNATIONALSTANDARDS

Universal PeriodicReviewThe Universal Periodic Review(UPR) is a United Nations process,where every country’s humanrights record is reviewed by itspeers every four-and-a-half years.Malaysia was reviewed in 2013,and WAO worked as part of theCoalition of Malaysian NGOs in

the UPR Process (COMANGO) toinfluence recommendations madeby other countries to Malaysia,and the recommendationsMalaysia would accept.

The outcome of the review wascompleted in 2014. Out of the 35recommendations made onwomen’s rights, Malaysiaaccepted 25, noted 10, andrejected none. It accepted arecommendation to submit itsoverdue combined CEDAW -Convention For The Elimination OfAll Forms Of DiscriminationAgainst Women periodic report.WAO also spoke at the UN HumanRights Council to urge thegovernment to fulfil therecommendations regardingwomen’s rights.

Defending humanrights defendersDue to COMANGO’s engagementin the UPR, the coalition wassubject to numerous attacks,including the declaration by theMinistry of Home Affairs thatCOMANGO was illegal.

On behalf of COMANGO, WAOwrote to several UN SpecialRapporteurs and the HumanRights Commission of Malaysia(SUHAKAM). Following this, theUN Office of the HighCommissioner for Human Rights(OHCHR) and SUHAKAM releasedstatements defending COMANGO,and four (4) Special Rapporteursjointly sent a letter to thegovernment. The governmentultimately reversed the decisionthat declared COMANGO illegal.


Special Rapporteuron the Right toHealthIn 2014, Dainius Pūras, the SpecialRapporteur on the Right to Healthofficially visited Malaysia toreview the situation of health inthe country from a human rightsperspective.WAO led JAG inpreparing and submitting writtenfeedback to the SpecialRapporteur, and coordinated civilsociety participation in a gender-themed meeting with the SpecialRapporteur.

After concluding his visit, theSpecial Rapporteur preparedpreliminary observations andrecommendations, whichcontained a section on womenand girls, including on domesticviolence. Many of the pointsraised by the Special Rapporteurmirrored points which had beenpresented by WAO.

InternationalWomen’s RightsThe 58th Commission on theStatus on Women

The 58th session of theCommission on the Status ofWomen (CSW58) took place at theUnited Nations (UN) Headquartersin New York from 10 to 21 March2014. The theme of CSW58,“Challenges and achievements inthe implementation of theMillennium Development Goals(MDGs) for women and girls,”linked the CSW with concurrentglobal processes preparing for thereview of the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs) andthe formulation of the post-2015

development agenda, theSustainable Development goals(SDGs).

WAO worked with other women’srights groups to lobby forprogressive language to beincluded in the outcomedocument of CSW58, againstregressive voices pushing backagainst women’s rights. Thewomen’s groups also made theirpresence felt by protesting in theUN premises.

Beijing +20

2015 will mark the 20 yearanniversarry of the BeijingPlatform for Action, (BPFA), apolicy framework and roadmapthat provides a comprehensiveand universally agreed plan ofaction to realise women’s humanrights.

The Asia Pacific Forum on WomenLaw and Development (APWLD),the region’s leading network offeminist organisations andwomem, played a lead role in theregional and internationalprocesses for the review of theBPFA. WAO, as a member ofAPWLD, has also participated inthese efforts.

Preceding the governmentsgathering at the Asia and PacificConference on Gender Equalityand Women’s Empowerment:Beijing+20 Review, which tookplace in Bangkok, Thailand, aformation of feminist andwomen’s rights networks,constituencies, and allies from theregion gathered for the Asia andPacific Civil Society OrganizationsForum on Beijing +20 (CSOForum). The CSO Forum wasattended by four (4) WAOrepresentatives and was a

platform to work with CSOs fromthe Asia and the Pacific region toconsolidate our key demands andto strategise on how to hold ourgovernments accountable for theimplementation of the BPFA.

A collective statement from theCSO Forum was producedemphasising accountabilitymechanisms from governmentsand the demand for developmentthat does not leave womenbehind.

“Today, we find ourselvesin a world defined bydeep and entrenchedinequalities. Genderinequality reinforces andis itself reinforced by theextraordinary levels ofinequality in wealth,power, and resourcesexperienced by women inAsia and the Pacific. Thearchitecture ofglobalization has resultedin wealth beingconcentrated in the handsof a tiny minority ofobscenely rich individuals.Globally, the sixty-fiverichest people in theworld have as muchcombined wealth as the3.5 billion poorest, whichis half of the world’spopulation”

- Excerpt from the Asia PacificBeijing+20 Civil Society Forum

Statement

This consolidated statement and aset of briefing papers fed intothe Asia and Pacific Conference onGender Equality and Women’sEmpowerment: Beijing+20Review that brought togetherministers and senior officials fromESCAP member States. For thefirst time, women’s rights activists


sat in the same room observinggovernments’ interventions asthey debated the outcomedocument.

The outcome document of theconference, the Asian and PacificMinisterial Declaration onAdvancing Gender Equality andWomen's Empowerment, includedgovernments’ commitments toaccelerate the implementation ofthe BPFA and will feed into the2015 at the 59th Session on theCommission on the Status ofWomen (UNCSW).

5. AIYOHWATLAH!AWARDSWAO, as part of the JAG,organised the AiyohWatLah!Awards, for the third consecutiveyear, in 2013. AiyohWatLah! is anannual international award-winning spoof ceremony whichaims to raise awareness onsexism, misogyny, homophobia,and/or transphobia, and toencourage higher standards ofbehaviour from public figures andinstitutions in relation to genderand sexuality.

Award “winners”

The Awards focus on publicstatements and actions instead ofindividuals and institutions.Nominees contend in one (1) ofseven (7) categories. In 2014,among the winners were:

“Policy Fail” category – Thesponsorship of “AsmaraSongsang”, a propagandamusical against LGBTs, by theDepartment of Special Affairs,Ministry of Information,Communications and Culture

“Least Helpful to the

Sisterhood” category – Claimby PAS Member ofParliament, Siti Zailah MohdYusoff, that indecent dressingwas to blame for sexualharassment, and her plea tothe government to“menguatkuasakan etika”(enforce morality) to preventwomen from dressingprovocatively.

“Right on Track” category –The High Court decisiondeclaring the religiousconversion of a child,unilaterally by one (1) parent,as unconstitutional.

Outcome

The Awards is a one-of-a-kindaffair in Malaysia, and is one ofcivil society’s most popular publicevents. Each year the Awards hasresulted in:

Roughly 1,000 votes forAward winners [in total];

More than 20 news stories; Approximately 100 audience

members attending the event;and

Numerous blog posts, and theproduction of a video of theevent.

6. PEOPLE’STRIBUNALThe first-ever People’s Tribunal inMalaysia, held in 2013 to examinethe conduct of the 13th GeneralElection, reconvened with thesame panel of international andlocal experts who delivered theirfindings and recommendations,having considered the testimoniesthey heard from more than 40witnesses over six (6) days from18 to 22 September 2013, and 27September 2013. The People’s

Tribunal ended on 27 September2013 with testimony from formerchairperson Datuk AmbigaSreenevasan.

WAO as a member of the BersihPeople’s Tribunal OrganizingCommittee assisted in holding thehalf day press conference todeliver the findings on 25 March2014, at the Empire Hotel SubangJaya, Selangor.

The Chair of the Tribunal, Yash PalGhai officially handed over theTribunal Report to Bersih 2.0 newchairperson Maria Chin Abdullah.Also present were panel membersRamlan Surbakti, Datuk AzzatKamaludin, Dr. Mavis Puthuchearyand Rev Dr. Hermen Shastri.

Among the tribunalrecommendations in the 92-pagereport are: Form an independent body to

handle the re-delineationexercise;

Lowering the voting age fromthe current 21 years to 18;

An entire new electoral roll tobe compiled to ensure thereare no dead or phantomvoters in the list;

The use of postal and advancevoting be reviewed, and thatit should not be extended onthe grounds of profession;

Political parties should berequired to be open abouttheir finances, including majorsources of funds; and

Laws to be amended toensure the EC is genuinelyindependent.

BERSIH 2.0 – the Coalition forClean and Fair Elections whichcomprises 84 civil societyorganisations utlises the findingsof the Peoples’ Tribunal toadvocate for electoral reform.


VOLUNTEERSAND INTERNS

MEMBERS AND VOLUNTEERSWAO events are a great way for members and volunteers to share theiropinions on current topics, to mingle, and even to recruit newmembers and volunteers. We hosted four (4) “WAO Conversations”sessions in 2014, on the following themes:

January: Discussion on Domestic ViolenceApril: Domestic Violence and Domestic WorkersJuly: Unilateral ConversionsSeptember: Survivors Speak Up (part of Freedom Film Fest 2014)

Members and volunteers were also of great help at various publiceducation booths and events, e.g. Aiyoh Wat Lah?! Awards, Art ForGrabs, Freedom Film Fest, Pusat Perubatan Universiti Malaya’s OneStop Crisis Centre and WAO Annual Gathering.

WAO’s operations at the Refuge, CCC and 3rd Centre have also beensupported by the work of members and volunteers. Individuals, as wellas groups of volunteers, have assisted and coordinated in women’s andchildren’s programmes and administrative work.

INTERNSBeing a small organisation, WAO’s work is greatly enhanced bycontributions of interns. WAO would like to extend our sinceregratitude to all the interns who have been with us in 2014.

Interns at the Refuge

Susanna Kattein Lee Shealin Loheswary Tavleen Tarrant Tay Chin Chin Charlyne Katharina

Hochreiter Hadiza-Isa Ahmed Nodumo Nyathi

Interns at the Child Care Centre

Loshini Veerasenan Lavanya Hari Nurul Asyikin Sharon Jaya Shalini

Interns at the 3rd centre

Marianne Laliberté Dhivya Kanagasingam Munirah Lim Lucia Corsini Melissa Tan Louise Tan Rosie Megan Chapman Choy Pei Sun Priyanka Bhupalan Sarah Shahriman Laura El katch Janoah Vizayer


PUBLICEDUCATION

WEBSITE AND SOCIALMEDIA

WebsiteThe WAO website is an important hub forinformation on domestic violence andother human rights issues. In 2013, 7.1% ofthe residents cited the media and websiteas their source of awareness about WAO.

The website is also a useful source ofinformation for prospective members,volunteers, interns and funders.

*Other: Thailand, Germany, Brazil, Japan,Pakistan, France, Egypt, Sweden, Spain, S.Korea, New Zealand, Vietnam, SaudiArabia.

Countries No. of new visitsMalaysia 61656USA 2643UK 1250India 1168Australia 913Indonesia 871Philippines 305Netherlands 297South Africa 278Other* 1944Total 71760

WAO ENGAGEMENTType Number

Media mention 149

Talks 35

Training, Seminarand Workshop

26

Public EducationBooth

12

Interviewconducted bystudents

19

Interviewconducted by media

31

Media Mentions 149

Talks 37

Training, Seminars& Workshops 19


FacebookFacebook is the primary social mediaplatform for advocacy, fundraising andawareness campaigns. The message ofWAO’s flagship public education campaign,#NoExcuseForAbuse, has been sustainedsince its launch on 8 March 2014.


No Excuse ForAbuse onInternationalWomen’s DayIn the week following thelaunch of #NoExcuseForAbuse,posts with the hashtag wereposted by 777 users, whichreached a possible audience of1,307,450 people. Politicians YBNurul Izzah, YB Hajjah NancyShukri, YB Hannah Yeoh and YBMas Ermieyati also contributedby posting their pleges on theirsocial media profiles.

16 Days ofActivism againstGender-BasedViolenceAnother campaign weundertook in 2014 was 16 Daysof Activism. We highlighted onestatistic a day related to gender-based violence (GBV); this was acontinuation of the#NoExcuseforAbuse campaign.We asked featured personalitiesto support this campaign, usingtheir social media (Facebook,Twitter and/or Instagram) tospread awareness for thecampaign. Their photos wereshared on our social media.


TwitterWe carried out several Twitter-specificcampaigns in 2014 including:

One Day, One Struggle

One Day, One Struggle on 9 November iswhen CSBR members campaign locally andglobally for sexual and bodily rights inMuslim societies. WAO did a social mediacampaign, calling for sex and reproductivehealth education to be taught in allschools.

#IChooseToBeAFeminist

As part of the global campaign on 16 Daysof Activism against Gender-Based Violencefrom 25 November to 10 December, weheld a tweet-up explaining why feminism’swork is not done on the 6th of December,the date of Montreal Massacre, known asan anti-feminism act.

We tweeted in total 23 tweets using#IChooseToBeAFeminist & #Ic2baf

Examples of tweets:

#IChooseToBeAFeminist because women are notmerely objects of desire and I refuse to be objectified.

#IChooseToBeAFeminist because cat-calling is NOT acompliment.

Guys out there, we want you to take the challenge to be afeminist too. #Ic2baf

#IChooseToBeAFeminist because people shouldenquire and learn before equating feminism to man-hating.

Because a woman’s worth does not depend on hersexual activity. #Ic2baf

REACHING OUT TO THE YOUNGREADERSWAO has partnered with NYLA, the publishers of Upin & IpinMagazine, to publish educational material in the monthlychildren's magazine. Since March 2014, material by WAO hasfeatured in the monthly magazine, reaching tens of thousands ofchildren. Topics covered have included International Women'sDay, women role-models, anti-bullying, Merdeka Day, and others.


FUNDRAISING

2014 was a great year in terms offundraising as we raised approximately

RM 1.7 million. Besides the continuedsupport from our loyal donors, we also

forged numerous new relationships.

We would like to thank two individuals in particular,Rupa Menon and Datin Sunita Zechariah, fororganising an amazing fundraising dinner whichbrought WAO many new supporters including ECMLibra which now donates towards our Child CareCentre. The two volunteers mentioned were verycommitted in making the event a fun and memorableone - all for a good cause.

We also had alovely surprise all the way from theUnited Kingdom. The Malaysian students of theLondon School of Economics and Political Science(LSE) informed WAO that we were to be thebeneficiary of the proceeds from their stage play.Every year, the LSESU Malaysia Club organises anannual charity event Malam Bakti and in 2014, theyheld a play named “We Called That Home”. Since ithighlighted a young individual’s struggle with abuse,the club decided to donate all proceeds from theevent to WAO’s Child Care Centre. The students putup a fantastic show and managed to raiseGBP1297.48 via ticket sales.

It was definitely a year which saw many youngstudents supporting our cause. The GardenInternational School named WAO as one of theircharity beneficiaries for the third time. The InteractClub of Sekolah Assunta and the Interact Club ofSekolah Aminuddin Baki also gave us donations fromevents held on International Understanding Day ateach location. Eva Van Beek from Holland anexchange programme under AIESEC was inspired toraise funds for WAO Child Care Centre after listeningto a talk by WAO under the "Choose2Protect”programme. She solicited funds from family andfriends and raised over RM10,000.

We are pleased to report that Hong Leong Foundationmade a generous contribution which helped us pay forthe renovations to our Refuge, and also therefurnishing of the Child Care Centre. One of our moststeadfast supporters, Yayasan Sime Darby continuedsupporting the core work of WAO in 2014 (as part ofits 2-year pledge since 2013).

Special mention also goes to the Kuok Foundation, theAssociation of British Women in Malaysia (ABWM),The Bloom Foundation, Malaysian Community &Education Foundation (CCI-MCEF), The Body Shop andAnother Chance Charity Shop for their continuoussupport.

We were also extremely pleased to be have beenchosen as one of the beneficiaries of the The MeliumGroup and Malaysia Tatler’s Charity Auction whichraised over RM3.3million for eight (8) differentcharities in one night. We received RM500,000.

WAO is also very appreciative of the donations in-kindthat we received from Curves Malaysia, a women-onlyfitness centre whose members donated generously(yet again) via their annual Food Drive. WAO receiveda sizeable amount of non-perishable food items andhygiene products which were distributed to theresidents of the Refuge and Child Care Centre.

Installation artist, Chuah Shu Ruei also collaboratedwith WAO in a community art installation projectcalled “Fruit In Kind” at the independent art fair, ArtFor Grabs at The School, Jaya One. This projectencouraged members of the public to donate fruitswhich will be arranged into an art piece. At the end ofthe event, all the fruits that were sent to Shu Ruei for


her installation were given to thewomen and children in our Refugeand Child Care Centre.

We would also like to thankindividuals who donatedgenerously so that WAO remainssustainable. There are too manyindividuals to be mentioned herebut we truly appreciate theircontributions and will always begrateful for their support. Thisthank you note also goes to allsponsors of the Anak Angkatprogramme who have contributedto the education of the childrenunder our care.

HIGHLIGHTS

Lam Soon EdibleOils (Antabax) +GIANT MalaysiaAntabax, aproduct under LamSoon Edible Oils Sdn Bhd andGIANT Malaysia collaborated toraise funds for WAO for a 2-monthperiod in 2013. This initiative wasintroduced to us by AboutCommunication, a Public Relationsand Marketing Communicationsagency whose client was Antabax.At the end of the collaboration,WAO received RM53,067.26 in2014 from this partnership, whichcomprises 10% of all Antabaxsales proceeds from all GIANTstores in the country.

LSESU MalaysiaClub – February2014On 8 February 2014, Malaysianstudents of the London School ofEconomics and Political Science

(LSE) in the United Kingdomstaged a 2-hour play titled as “WeCalled That Home” at the OldTheatre of the London School ofEconomics for the annual LSEMalaysian Night. A production ofthe London School of EconomicsStudent Union (LSESU) MalaysiaClub, the play aimed to supportWAO’s Child Care Centre. Thisevent raised £1,297.48 which isequivalent to RM6,771.50.

Unilever + Guardian– March 2014Pink Heart is back! This time, thecollaboration involved Dove, aspecific personal care brand underthe Unilever product range.Unilever has been a loyalsupporter of WAO, and thiscampaign raised RM25,320 via thesale of keychains. The Pink Heartcampaign allowed customers ofGuardian stores to purchase aPink Heart keychain at RM2whenever they purchased Doveproducts priced at RM20 andabove in a single receipt. Thekeychains were also sold on theirown at RM6.90.

Merdekarya – May2014Melani Delilkan, the co-owner ofMerdekarya introduced us toKanvas Sessions, a platform topromote local talent; sheturnedthis into a fundraising event forWAO. It was a great effort byBerklee College of Music student,Razlan Shah and Merdekarya,together with Darren Ashley,Narmi, Hameer Zawawi and BrianGomez who all performed thatnight. There was also a ‘live art’show by Kara Inez, Sharon Chin

and Anna Henna. The event whichtook place on 26 April 2014 raiseda sum of RM1,168 for WAO.

Rupa and Sunita’sFundraising Dinner –June 2014A fundraising strategy that beganwith Vivienne Lee in 2008whereby friends of WAO host adinner, the WAO FundraisingDinner continued this year with anevent held by Rupa Menon andDatin Sunita Zechariah. Togetherwith Executive CommiteeMember, Meera Samanther andRupa’s daughter, Dhivya who wasalso an intern at WAO, theymanaged to raise over RM361,000that included pledges fromvarious companies andindividuals. Those who attendedreported that it was a fabulousevening with great food, musicand company!

GardenInternational School– June 2014Mufti Day is an annual charityevent organised by the SecondarySchool Prefects of GardenInternational School to raise fundsfor various NGO’s and individualswho require urgent medicalattention. WAO was extremelypleased to be chosen as thebeneficiary for the third time andreceived funds worth RM6,612during a cheque presentation heldat the school on 27 June 2014.


Interact Club ofAssunta – July 2014WAO was invited to InternationalUnderstanding Day 2014 -“Wounds Into Wisdom” organisedby the Interact Club of SMKAssunta. WAO’s advocacy officers,Yu Ren Chung and Kristine Yapmade oral presentations to theassembly of students on 30 June2014 and on, 5 July 2014. TheInteract Club supported by theRotary Club of Petaling Jaya thencontributed RM15,000 to WAO.

The Color Run –August 2014On 17 August 2014, WAOExecutive Director Ivy Josiahparticipated in The Color Run, anun-timed race that is also knownas the "Happiest 5k on the Planet"celebrating health, happiness andindividuality. Ivy ran on 17 August2014 at Padang Merbok in honourof her mother's 90th birthday andwomen's rights. Ivy successfullyraised RM10,350 from hersponsors and part of the fundswere raised via an online givingplatform, SimplyGiving.

The Melium Groupand Malaysia Tatler– September 2014In conjunction with their 25th

Anniversary, Melium Group andMalaysia Tatler held a grandcharity auction which took placeat The Mandarin Oriental Hotel,Kuala Lumpur in May. This eventwhich was co-hosted by Dato’Farah Khan and Ms. FlorenceFang, raised a whopping

RM3.3million – they weredetermined that 100% of theproceeds were donated to theeight (8) charities named thatnight itself. WAO would like thankThe Melium Group and MalaysiaTatler for believing in our cause.

GlobalGivingGlobalGiving is a non-profit onlinemarketplace that connects donorswith grassroots projects aroundthe world to create a high impact.All donations are channelledthrough the GlobalGivingFoundation that receives anominal 15% fulfillment fee. Thisfee covers the costs of operatingGlobalGiving such as finding andvetting projects, providing trainingand support to project leaders,attracting donors, andmaintaining an innovative,informative web presence.

In 2014, five (5) project reportswere posted by WAO on theGlobalGiving website. Donors whocontributed to WAO throughGlobalGiving received the reportsvia email. We sent thank youletters to all these donors throughthe website.

There were six (6) disbursementsto WAO throughout the year. By31 December 2014, local andinternational donors hadcontributed USD3,724.20(MYR13,499.48) to WAO viaGlobalGiving.


TrusteesToh Puan Datin Dr. Aishah OngRashidah AbdullahDato’ Noor Faridah AriffinPuan Sri Chong Eu Ngoh

Membership298 members

WAO Executive Committee 2013 – 2015The following members of the Executive Committee (EXCO) were elected for a two-year term (2013 – 2015) at the 30thAnnual General Meeting held on 28 April 2013 at the WAO Centre, Petaling Jaya.

President Mok Chuang Lian

Vice President Vivienne Lee

Secretary Chin Oy Sim

Assistant Secretary Tashia Peterson

Treasurer Carol Chin

Assistant Treasurer Puveshini Rao

Committee Members Meera SamantherYeow Ai LinShoba Aiyar

Staff in attendance Ivy Josiah (Executive Director) - retired w.e.f 31 Dec 2014Sumitra Visvanathan (Executive Director) - w.e.f 1 Jan 2015Sharmini Kanesamoorthy (Finance & Administrative Manager)- resigned w.e.f 31 Aug 2014Wong Su Zane (Social Work Manager)

WAO People


WAO Committees, Groups and Coalitions in 2013

Staff and Finance Committee Mok Chuang LianVivienne LeeChin Oy SimCarol ChinPuveshini RaoMeera Samanther

Staff in attendance:

Ivy Josiah (Executive Director) - retired w.e.f 31 Dec 2014Sumitra Visvanathan (Executive Director) - w.e.f 1 Jan 2015Sharmini Kanesamoorthy (Finance & Administrative Manager)- resigned w.e.f 31 Aug 2014

Legal Aid Centre (LAC)Representatives

Meera SamantherUmadevi Rajah DenramNazlina Abdul Ghani

Coordinator for UnitedNations High Commissionerfor Refugees (UNHCR)Programme

Wong Su Zane

Coordinator for InternationalCatholic MigrationCommission’s Programme

Wong Su Zane

Anak Angkat Coordinator Yogasri Sivanyanam till 31 March 2014Ermawati Ahmad Sanusi w.e.f 1 April 2014

Volunteer Coordinator Nishalini Santharasagaran - resigned w.e.f 3 Feb 2014Kristine Yap - w.e.f 1 Apr 2014

Social Media Nishalini Santharasagaran - resigned w.e.f 3 Feb 2014Kristine Yap - w.e.f 1 Apr 2014

National Council of Women’sOrganisations (NCWO)Representatives

Shanthi DairiamNazlina Abdul Ghani

Joint Action Group for GenderEquality (JAG)Representatives

Ivy Josiah - retired w.e.f 31 Dec 2014Sumitra Visvanathan - w.e.f 1 Jan 2015Meera SamantherShanthi DairiamWong Su ZaneYu Ren ChungSally Wangsawijaya - w.e.f 2 May 2013


Mok Chuang LianTashia Peterson

JAG Fiesta Feminista Meera Samanther – resigned w.e.f 4 April 2013Umadevi Rajah Denram

Jaringan Pekerja MalaysiaRepresentatives

Ivy Josiah - retired w.e.f 31 Dec 2014Sumitra Visvanathan - w.e.f 1 Jan 2015Yu Ren Chung

Migration Working GroupRepresentatives

Ivy Josiah - retired w.e.f 31 Dec 2014Sumitra Visvanathan - w.e.f 1 Jan 2015Yu Ren ChungUmadevi Rajah Denram - w.e.f 1 Oct 2013Yogasri Sivanyanam - w.e.f 1 Oct 2013

Reproductive Rights AdvocacyAlliance Malaysia (RRAAM)

Wong Su ZaneIvy Josiah - retired w.e.f 31 Dec 2014Sumitra Visvanathan - w.e.f 1 Jan 2015

Southeast Asia Women’sCaucus on ASEAN

Ivy Josiah - retired w.e.f 31 Dec 2014Sumitra Visvanathan - w.e.f 1 Jan 2015Yu Ren ChungSally Wangsawijaya - w.e.f 2 May 2013Sumitha Shaanthinni Kishna

Bersih 2.0 Ivy Josiah - retired w.e.f 31 Dec 2014Sumitra Visvanathan - w.e.f 1 Jan 2015Yu Ren ChungMeera SamantherSally Wangsawijaya - w.e.f 2 May 2013

Asia Pacific Forum onWomen, Law andDevelopment (APWLD)

Ivy JosiahSumitra Visvanathan - w.e.f 1 Jan 2015

Asian Shelter Network Ivy JosiahWong Su Zane

Coalition of Malaysian NGO’sin the UPR Process(COMANGO)

Yu Ren ChungIvy Josiah - retired w.e.f 31 Dec 2014Sumitra Visvanathan - w.e.f 1 Jan 2015

Article 11 Ivy Josiah - retired w.e.f 31 Dec 2014Sumitra Visvanathan - w.e.f 1 Jan 2015Meera Samanther


Endorsee Committee Mok Chuang LianMeera SamantherSharon Hariharan

Internal Advocacy Group Mok Chuang LianYeow Ai LinCarol ChinShanthi DairiamIvy JosiahMeera SamantherYu Ren ChungSiti HazwaniKristine Yap

Munirah LimSharon HariharanLee Shook FongSumitha KishnaSu SaminathanTashia PetersonVivienne Lee IskandarWathshlah NaiduPuveshni RaoHaziq Azizi

Staff

Management

Ivy Josiah Executive Director - retired w.e.f 31 Dec 2014

Sumitra Visvanathan Executive Director - w.e.f 1 Jan 2015

Sharmini Kanesamoorthy Finance & Administrative Manager- resigned w.e.f 31 Aug 2014

Wong Su Zane Social Work Manager

Refuge


Amy Hor Choi Fun Night Supervisor

Jessie Ang Hoon Ai Social Worker

Nazlina Abdul Ghani Social Worker

Umadevi a/p Rajah Denram Social Worker

Ermawati bt Ahmad Sanusi

Yogasri a/p Sivanyanam

Social Worker

Social Worker

Sally Wangsawijaya Social Worker - w.e.f 1 July 2014


Child Care Centre (CCC)

Firkah bt Jenal Child Social Worker

Saraswati a/p Balakrishnan

Paruwathi a/p Pathathan

Privena d/o Vasu

Sasikala d/o Ganesan

Child Minder

Child Minder

Child Minder - resigned w.e.f 27 Mar 2014

Child Minder - w.e.f 1 Jun 2014

Administrative Staff

Shuba VashaniPerimbanayagam

Divvyananthini Manoharan

Administrator

Accounts and Administrative Assistant

Projects Officer

Nisha Santharasagaran

Vivian Yap Wui Woon

Projects Officer - resigned w.e.f 3 Feb 2014

Projects Executive

Advocacy Officer

Yu Ren Chung

Sally Wangsawijaya

Kristine Yap Ching Yee

Siti Hazwani Hanim binti Ramli

Advocacy Officer

Advocacy Officer - resigned w.e.f 30 Jun 2014

Advocacy Officer (Communications) - w.e.f 1 Apr 2014

Advocacy Officer - w.e.f 13 Oct 2014

Management Staff

Ivy Josiah

Sumitra Visvanathan

Executive Director - retired w.e.f 31 Dec 2014

Executive Director - w.e.f 1 Jan 2015

Sharmini Kanesamoorthy Finance & Administrative Manager- resigned w.e.f 31 Aug 2014


We would like to express our gratitude to Aaron Claringbold for his volunteer work in capturing the beautiful photos thatwere used on page 4, 6, 10, 12, 13 and 15 of this report. Aaron is a photographer from Melbourne, Australia and he wasintroduced to WAO in October 2013.

ANNUAL REPORT 2014 - Women's Aid Organisation

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