MCYS SPEECH NO.

: 12/2006
DATE OF ISSUE : 09/03/2006

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Speech by Mrs Yu Foo Yee Shoon, Minister of State for

Community Development, Youth and Sports at the
Committee of Supply Sitting 2006 , 9 March 2006, 3.45pm

Crisis Assistance & Counselling Programs for Men

The honourable NMP has raised the same query twice,

which my ministry had responded on 16 May 2005 and 17

January this year. We had informed the House that crisis and

counselling programmes and services for men and women are

provided by Family Service Centres (FSCs) and voluntary welfare

organizations (VWOs). They address the needs of families and

individuals regardless of gender. In the vast majority of the cases,

the issues are gender-neutral in nature. Also, the vast majority of

abuse cases involve female victims.

2 But let me share with the honorable NMP how we help men

who have been abused. Similar to female victims, husbands who

are abused by their wives have equal access to legal, medical

and social services. The law protects family members from abuse,

both male and female. This includes spouse, children (including

adopted and step children), parents and parents-in-law, siblings

and any relative or incapacitated person whom the court regards

as a family member.

3 My Ministry has put in place a National Family Violence

Networking System to integrate the management of family

violence, regardless of whether the victim is male or female. This

island-wide system links police, hospitals, social service agencies,

the courts, prisons and MCYS in a web of assistance for victims

and perpetrators of family violence. A victim of family violence

can approach any one of these agencies and the necessary

assistance will be rendered. This means there are many contact

points for the victims, whether male or female, to seek help.

4 If the man has experienced any form of violence, he will be

advised to apply for a Personal Protection Order (or PPO) from

the Family Court to restrain the abuser from committing any more

acts of violence against him. When applying for a PPO at the

Family Court, both the Complainant and the Respondent will see

the judge who will assess the history of the case and the risk of

abuse. If the application is contested, the parties will go to trial

where each has to give evidence in open court, call witnesses to

support their case and be cross-examined. As can be seen, the

investigation rests on evidence and testimonies of the parties and

witnesses. It is not necessary to adopt a gender-specific

approach for this.

5 We recognize that more men are coming forward to look for

help. The voluntary welfare sector recognizes this too and has

developed specific programmes for men, such as, the Association

of Muslim Professionals (AMP) which has piloted Program

Nakhoda, a support group for men while As-Salaam Family

Support Centre works with MUIS to conduct pre-khutbah (pre-

sermon) before Friday prayers to reach out to men. For men in

crisis, the Society Against Family Violence, Daybreak Family

Service Centre and the Centre for PAVe (Promoting Alternatives

to Violence) provide counselling and groupwork for men. We

support such people sector developments.

6 We agree that awareness on counselling and crisis

assistance programmes should start from the young. The

honorable NMP would be pleased to know that in the last 3 years,

skits on dating violence and family violence have toured

secondary schools and reached out to almost 40,000 students.

Many find the messages these skits convey to be powerful and

thought-provoking. They have also learnt about the sources of

help that are available.

7 My ministry recognizes that some men prefer male social

workers to help them with their problems. Given that social work

is a female dominated profession, MCYS will encourage more

men to take up the profession through generating awareness

among youths, and scholarships.

8 Finally, let me say that any person in a crisis situation can

call the Samaritan of Singapore (SOS) hotline which is available

24 hours, for assistance. Counselling support and practical

assistance are also offered at the 36 FSCs. For men who need

temporary accommodation, there are crisis shelters that they can

turn to. If there is immediate danger, Police assistance can be

sought.

Juvenile homes

9 Ms Eunice Olsen asked about the success of rehabilitating

young offenders in the juvenile homes and how we manage

bullying behaviour.

10 Our juvenile homes provide rehabilitation for young

offenders with the ultimate aim of helping them to re-integrate into

society. Firstly, we work with community agencies to provide

counselling for the offenders' parents, to improve the family

relationship. Secondly, we provide specialized treatment

programmes that target specific offending behaviour, such as

theft and violent offences. Thirdly, offenders attend educational,

vocational and life-skills training to prepare them for the future.

11 On average in the past 5 years, 9 out of 10 young

offenders successfully completed their rehabilitation programmes

in the juvenile homes. We also track the number of re-offenders

within the following 3 years after they leave the juvenile homes.

For the 1997 to 2001 cohorts, the average re-offending rate is

30%. This means that 7 out of 10 young offenders went on to

lead crime-free lives after they left the homes.

Bullying

12 Miss Olsen is concerned about incidents of bullying in

the Homes. We are equally concerned. There is an average of 2

bullying incidents per month among 380 residents. The common

forms of bullying include forcing other residents to do chores and

using vulgarities on the victim. Serious forms of bullying, such as

pushing each other and exchanging blows, are less frequent.

13 However, every case of bullying is one too many. We

take a serious view of such incidents, and adopt a systematic

approach to prevent them from happening. When the juvenile

offenders first enter the homes, we inform them and their parents

about rules in the homes, including the punishments for bullying.

We have a behaviour management system to reward good

behaviour and discourage misbehaviour. The majority of the

juvenile offenders follow the rules and respond well to the

rehabilitation programmes.

14 For the small minority who break the rules, we

investigate each incident and enforce discipline in a firm and fair

way. Those who are found to be bullying other residents will be

duly punished. This may include detention in a segregation room

and caning. In addition, they will also be counselled. If they still

persist in bullying behaviour, they will be sent to the Reformative

Training Centre under the Prisons Department.

 Annex

FLOW CHART ON THE MANAGEMENT OF FAMILY VIOLENCE CASES

Victim approaches
FSC or MCYS

• Conduct risk assessment of victim, children and other family

members
• Work out safety plans
• Provide casework assistance and counselling
• Refer victim to Crisis Shelter

Has victim Does victim Does victim

made a Police have a need medical
report? PPO? treatment?

Assist victim Assist victim to apply for Assist victim to

to make a PPO at the Family Court, Accident &
Police report PAVe, Trans Center, Emergency Dept
Loving Hearts * if necessary

Case is followed-up
and reviewed by FSC
or MCYS

Case is Closed

* Loving Hearts Multi Service Center

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