Zonta Club of Macau calls for action to combat domestic violence

Christiana Ieong

The Zonta Club of Macau is calling for increased awareness of domestic violence.  “Domestic violence is a crime which is associated with grave implications for society as a whole, and the damage is far from [just] personal suffering.  It can happen to anyone regardless of age, gender, socio-economic background and education level.  There are in fact many hidden cases in Macau. There are sufferers [whose lives are under threat].  We need immediate action,” said the organization’s chartered president Christiana Ieong.
The Zonta Club of Macau was established last year and aims to advance women’s economic and social status.  They have organized numerous charity activities since their establishment; chartered patron Ms Pansy Ho is the club’s primary sponsor.
Still developing its strategy, the Zonta Club of Macau came to prominence earlier than its members had expected, with their response to lawmaker Fong Chi Keong’s controversial statements on domestic violence last month. Mr Fong said he did not agree with the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture’s zero-tolerance approach to domestic violence: “I really disagree [with] the secretary’s advocacy for zero-tolerance. You cannot clap with only one hand. It always takes two hands. [In cases where] the wife is chewing the husband’s ear off, if the wife did not talk back when the husband reprimanded her, the husband would not have beaten her,” he said at the Legislative Assembly plenary meeting, when the domestic violence bill passed its first reading.
The club issued an open letter criticizing his views on domestic violence.  Ms Ieong recalled that the club reacted strongly against the lawmaker’s statements, particularly because they felt that – in a way – his words reflected the mindset of some perpetrators. Mr Fong Chi Keong’s words triggered “irreparable damage to the values promoted [in] Macau society,” the club wrote.
“Culturally, we have to understand that in Asian and Chinese societies, women tend to be more submissive. Inside, we think we don’t want to create problems. So that’s why – when someone said that there’s domestic violence because women provoke the incidents – we had to react strongly [against this idea]. Also, we can’t forget that there are actually male victims who usually feel more embarrassed to speak out.  Children may think it is the victim’s [their mother’s] fault and it was all right to resolve problem with violence.  This is wrong,” she recalled.
“We are pleased to see the recent legislative development of the domestic violence prevention bill.  The government sees it as very important for Macau. The new secretary even came to advocate it: zero tolerance on domestic violence.  We are fully in support of that,” Ieong emphasized.
“The current version provides stronger protection and preventative measures. Yet, there is a need to clearly define the crimes to ensure a more efficient and effective implementation and execution of the law,” she added.
“However, the law alone is far from enough to combat domestic violence,” Ieong recalled, “it is happening every day and to women and men of different social levels.  They desperately need help.  It is the mindset of the people, mostly of the perpetrators, that we have to change.  Some of them are due to mental illness.  They need medical help.”
Ieong particularly wants to raise awareness for women in underprivileged households who might be afraid of speaking out, especially when they’re financially dependent on the other party.
“We must continue to raise public awareness regarding domestic violence, as society needs to realize that we have many cases of domestic violence, and in different social levels,” she stressed.
Ieong continued, “I’ve got friends who are financially independent professional women who have suffered from domestic violence.  They still live in horror with occasional nightmares after years.  It is worse when there are children involved or for those underprivileged women who are usually financially dependent on the other party.  They may not even know where to seek help.  When the situation drags for too long, it might even represent a life threat for them,” she acknowledged.
Ms Ieong called for the proper training of professionals dealing with victims and perpetrators. “We are going to have a new law; the appropriate handling of domestic violence cases by competent authorities, such as the police force or other stakeholders like social workers, is crucial (…) Proper training and sufficient guidance are needed to empower the police force. Just two weeks ago in Portugal, where anti-domestic violence law has been in effect for so long, the first death case was reported five hours after a call to authorities. The police just simply didn’t consider it a risk,” she reiterated.
Given their current situation, the Zonta Club is focusing on social issues related to women and children. As a professional woman struggling to balance her work and personal life for the last 20 years, and mother of a recently adopted baby girl, Ieong empathizes more with women and children.  “They are more vulnerable to problems.  The women have to juggle careers with families, while the children have the [least heard] voice,” she clarified. “We need to scale up efforts across a range of sectors to combat domestic violence with determination, to prevent this kind of criminal act from happening in the first place, and to provide necessary services for affected individuals. We will closely monitor the progress of the subsequent legislation process,” Ieong added.
Ieong said she was pleased to see that Macau’s society, as a whole, has grown more “mature,” especially in respect to upholding the right social and cultural values. She sees that Macau people are more united, more socially responsible and politically sensitive.  Attention was also drawn to reconsider the expectations of the conduct standards and the performance of legislators, she stressed.
In concluding the interview, Ieong reiterated that “the Zonta Club of Macau has received increasing support, with nearly 60 members, volunteers and supporters of both sexes.
“I’ve got members from different nationalities in different professional sectors:  lawyers, accountants, engineers, medical doctors, pharmacists, academics, executives of the government, major hotels and retailers (…)  Some of our members were encouraged to join by their husbands or boyfriends, who also come to support our activities.”.
Ieong concluded by saying that, “Men have been very supportive of our club. We all share the same beliefs and approach. Mutual respect is the foundation of harmony: ‘Do what we have to do and do it right!’ – this is our motto.”