Sylvia Lim on Women's Charter (Family Violence and Other Matters) (Amendment) Bill

A new Bill aimed at strengthening responses to family violence makes clear that the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) is the lead ministry with the police and Ministry of Home Affairs playing a somewhat secondary role, said MP Sylvia Lim. She gave the example of MSF’s Domestic Violence Emergency Response Team (DVERT) being staffed by ministry officers who will also issue Emergency Orders, with the police “coming along” to attend cases. Ms Lim asked if, in domestic cases where arrestable crimes have likely been committed, the police will follow criminal processes and not simply leave it to MSF to handle such cases under the Women’s Charter. She also expressed concern about the “tremendous” manpower demands of implementing the provisions under the Bill. For example, she said there will have to be round-the-clock teams such as DVERT, who also need to be highly trained. The police, who already face “longstanding manpower challenges”, will also have to support DVERT’s work. Ms Lim spoke in Parliament on Tuesday (Jul 4).