Annual Review 2012
Transcription
Annual Review 2012
A N N U A L R E V I E W Contents VISION DONATION & SPONSORSHIP MISSION Cheque to be made payable to: Women’s Centre for Change CIMB Account No: 0737 0000 360105 Maybank Account No: 5070 6813 5616. WCC envisions an inclusive society free from gender violence and discrimination, and where women can actualise their full potential. WCC is committed to: • Eliminating violence against women • Empowering women and children • Promoting gender equality and social justice Established in 1985, WCC provides free counseling, emotional support, legal advice and temporary shelter for women in crisis, irrespective of their ethnicity, religion and social background. WCC also conducts various outreach programs: sexual abuse prevention for children and youth and gender awareness for the public. WCC is a member of the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) which actively campaigns for policy and legal reforms affecting women and children. ANNUAL REVIEW 2012 WCC is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization and welcomes donations and sponsorships to support our work. CONTACT Women’s Centre for Change (WCC) 241, Jalan Burma, 10350 Penang, Malaysia Tel : +604 - 228 0342 Fax : +604 - 228 5784 Email : [email protected] Website : www.wccpenang.org Pusat Perkhidmatan Wanita (PPW) 67A, 1st Flr, Jalan Perai Jaya 4, Bandar Perai Jaya, 13600 Perai, Penang. Tel : +604 - 398 8340 Email : [email protected] © 2013, Women’s Centre for Change, Penang. All rights reserved Designed by Liz Tan, C-Square Sdn Bhd, Penang Printed by Jutaprint, Penang 2 - 5 | President’s Report 6 - 7 | 2012 At A Glimpse 8 - 9 | General Committee 2012 & Working Groups 10 - 21 | 22 - 35 36 - 43 Programs and Activities Service Report Community Outreach Report Advocacy Report | Diary of Events 2012 | Appreciation & Gratitude Donors & Sponsors Volunteers - Official Opening Event & General Partners & Supporting Agencies CONTRIBUTORS Mariam Lim, Loh Cheng Kooi, Prema Devaraj, Annie Yeap, Goh Sze Mei, Lee Sook Foong, Melissa Mohd Akhir, Tasha Merican, Mangleswary Subramaniam & Lim Chooi Leng EDITORS Loh Cheng Kooi & Kat Fatland PRESIDENT’S REPORT 2012 Mariam Lim OUR NEW OFFICE 2012 proved to be yet another important and meaningful year for WCC. It marked the beginning of a new chapter as WCC began working out of the new office at 241, Burmah Road. Our prominent location at a busy junction in Pulau Tikus has brought greater visibility to our organisation and our cause. The much improved facilities have also provided us with needed space to take on new, exciting initiatives as well as to expand our programs. To commemorate our office move, WCC held an opening ceremony in September officiated by the Chief Minister of Penang, YAB Lim Guan Eng. The festive halfday event, which included a mini concert, food fair, jumble sale and other fun programs, was held to thank all parties who had helped to make our new office a reality - the generous donors, sponsors, volunteers and members as well as the Penang community at large for their unwavering support for WCC’s good work in serving women and children over the years. NEW INITIATIVES AND WORK EXPANSION Y es, WCC has a new look and operates in a new improved setting but at the heart of it all are the same spirited members, volunteers and staff who go about their work with dedication and passion. In a pioneering effort, WCC jointly with the Penang State Prosecution Unit successfully conducted a training aimed at bringing about more effective 2| Women’s Centre for Change, Penang prosecution of sexual crimes for deputy public prosecutors in the northern states of Malaysia. This collaborative effort is a feather in the cap for the advocacy work of WCC. It showed that a longstanding NGO like WCC is recognised as a credible partner by an enforcement agency to impart its knowledge and skills to help ensure better access to justice for victims of sexual crimes. Our four year collaboration with the One Stop Crisis Centre (OSCC) at Hospital Pulau Pinang has begun to bear fruit, with WCC being called upon to give emotional support and counseling to survivors of violence. In 2012, OSCC cases increased by 66%; we handled 160 cases compared to 96 in 2011. More significantly, we made inroads with Hospital Seberang Jaya, which began to refer cases to Pusat Perkhidmatan Wanita (PPW), the women’s service centre on mainland Penang operated by WCC and sponsored by the Penang State Government. WCC is also actively involved in the training of medical personnel of hospitals in the state, including enhancing skills and knowledge in handling sexual assault cases. Through WCC’s persistent efforts, regular interagency meetings are now taking place between hospitals, police, welfare departments and WCC to iron out challenges encountered by various agencies when dealing with actual cases and to seek ways to improve cooperation. Notably, WCC’s service work in 2012 has progressed beyond crisis intervention to advocating for client’s rights. Increasingly, domestic violence and sexual assault clients look to WCC as a dependable body to help them with follow-up dealings with enforcement agencies like the police and welfare department regarding safety protection and law enforcement matters. Such work includes making countless phone calls to the relevant authorities on the clients’ behalf, explaining the rights of the client to have protection and giving emotional support to victims attending court trials, which entail numerous hearings and often postponements. Another noteworthy initiative undertaken in 2012 is the Women’s Stories Project, an innovative program for ex-clients to help them build their self- esteem through a series of self-discovery workshops. Through a process of story-telling, sharing experiences and drawings, participants were able to build a close rapport amongst themselves and provide support to each other. By the end of the workshops, the women felt empowered and transformed themselves into more self-assured individuals. Their hopes and dreams were expressed through creative drawings and compiled into a table top calendar. The successful sale of 2,000 calendars has given rise to a start-up fund for future women’s empowerment projects. This project will continue into 2013 and will culminate in a collection of these women’s own stories. The positive effects of the healing and empowering journey which these ex-clients have experienced have been remarkable. IMPETUS OF ON-GOING WORK N ew developments aside, WCC’s counseling services for clients in crisis continued unabated. With WCC and PPW fully operational on the island and the mainland respectively, in 2012 our counseling services handled 650 new clients, an 8% increase from the previous year, and assisted 2,400 hotline callers, making us one of the most active women NGOs serving women in the northern region. WCC’s outreach work with the different communities to raise gender awareness and prevent violence reached over 7,000 people – children, youth, women and men – an all time high for the organization. Our popular Be Smart, Be Safe program to educate children on the dangers of sexual abuse reached more than 2,600 children – twice the number reached last year. We also trained teachers in national and Tamil primary schools in Penang and Perak to ensure the sustainability of this program. This year, our new ICT cyber safety in social media program benefitted another 1,000 teenagers. WCC also continued with the delivery of its Respek program, teaching over 600 youths about the importance of mutual respect in relationships and personal safety. ANNUAL REVIEW 2012 | 3 PRESIDENT’S REPORT PARTNERSHIPS FOR A COMMON CAUSE W CC is mindful of the need to seek smart partnerships with relevant bodies so as to further our cause and increase the impact of our work at the community level. WCC worked closely with the newly established Penang Women’s Development Corporation (PWDC) to train local community groups like Vivekkam, District Offices and village community leaders to raise awareness on domestic violence and gender issues. Partnering with Think City, WCC also undertook a project to promote safety for children in the inner city of Georgetown. Working with local groups like Arts-Ed, the Indian Muslim community and the Kapitan Keling Mosque Qaryah Committee, this project entailed organising creative workshops for children and residents of the area regarding the issue of safety. The project culminated in a stakeholders’ dialogue which brought residents and government agencies together to seek ways to improve safety for residents in the inner city. MOVING FORWARD s WCC’s visibility grows, we hope so will our influence and the impact of our work. In 2012, we took stock of WCC’s work in the three major areas of Service, Outreach and Advocacy and to set directions and priorities for the future. A series of in-house strategic planning sessions were conducted, and the deliberations that came out will serve as a compass as WCC moves forward into the next term. A few important realisations struck us: 4| Women’s Centre for Change, Penang • Funders/donors will always be needed to financially support our programs; a core group of loyal members is necessary, just as are dedicated and competent staff to execute the WCC’s work-load. But at the end of the day it is our active, engaged volunteers who will be the ones who bring diversity of talent and fresh ideas to energise the organisation as a whole. • We need to move with the times and begin to employ social media more actively and effectively as a communication tool. An important start has already been made at improving volunteer recruitment, with the holding of regular volunteer induction sessions for those who are interested to get involved with WCC. The next step is to devise an effective process to convert the goodwill and good intentions of would-be volunteers into active engagement. APPRECIATION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS W A • If WCC is to remain vibrant and if the good track record of our work to eliminate violence, empower women and bring about gender equality and social justice is to be sustained, we need to reach out and connect with a broader and younger cohort. PRESIDENT’S REPORT CC’s existence and growth is made possible by generous foundations, corporations and many individuals who financially support our cause. It is heartening to note that in 2012, the number of casual donors with gifts of RM100 or more increased. Needless to say, WCC is extremely grateful to our main sustaining sponsors and donors: Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (EED), Penang state MMK Women, Family and Community Development, Lim Lean Teng Foundation and Neoh Foundation for their on-going generous grants. Special mention to the Lee Foundation which gave a generous one-off grant towards WCC’s building fund. Fundraising remains an on-going challenge for NGOs but we remain optimistic that based on our strong performance record, the community at large will continue to shower WCC with goodwill and support us generously. Last but not least, special thanks to my colleagues of the General Committee, and to all our dedicated volunteers and staff of WCC who contributed in no small measure to making 2012 another highly successful year. United in spirit and working together, we can build a more caring society free from violence and discrimination against women and children. ANNUAL REVIEW 2012 | 5 Photo: Bulletin Mutiara WCC Building Official Opening 18 Sept 2012 a t a 2 201 GLIMPSE WCC “Respect” & “Be Savvy Be Safe” program reached out to 1,611 youths on gender violence, cyber violence and safety. Releasing of butterflies children ram benefitted 2,703 og pr ) IS (B at lam Se evention WCC Bijak Itu rs on sexual abuse pr he ac te 2 23 ed in tra and s Public Prosecutor ty pu De r fo ng ni Trai ates from Northern st Mini Concert Children’s Amazing Trail International Women’s Day: Wanita Suara Perubaha n in PJ; WCC joined over 5000 people to march for a better society. Food Galore Jumble Sale Exhibition THE COUNSELING NUMBERS 648 6| 200 new clients counseled and handled by WCC and PPW 2403 tele-counseling for women in crisis. cases of domestic violence and sexual assault referred by government hospitals. Women’s Centre for Change, Penang Women’s Stories Project: empowering & rebuilding womens’ lives through story-telling and drawings. “Promoting Safety in George Town” with Think City: • Taught 450 children to be safe • Produced posters and booklet on personal safety ANNUAL REVIEW 2012 | 7 • Stakeholders Dialogue on Safety gENERAL COMMITTEE & WORKING GROUPS 2012 Patron : Y.A.Bhg. Toh Puan Dato’ Seri Utama Hajah Majimor bt. Shariff Trustees : Lalitha Menon Chin Khuan Sui Yuslinov Ahmad : Mariam Lim Vice President : Shakila Abdul Manan Vice President : Lalitha Menon Secretary : Karen Lai Yu Lee Assistant Secretary : Hajar Abdul Rahim Treasurer : Chin Khuan Sui Committee Members : Lim Kah Cheng Molly Lee Susan Siew Ivy Ho Hajar Abdul Rahim Loh Cheng Kooi (ex-officio) Finance Annie Chin, Chin Khuan Sui Loh Cheng Kooi Women’s Centre for Change, Penang Sharon Sim Joo Joo Shelter Assistant Jenny Ng Administrator (resigned August 2012) (resigned October 2012) Poh Lerk Shih Special Projects Officer Lim Chooi Leng PPW Coordinator Jennie Antonisamy Project Officer Liz Tan Lee Soo (part-time) Service and Shelter : Maria Francisca Belavandram*, Wendy Ang, Wee Siew Eng, Monina Vergas, Sally Alexander, Susan Siew & Molly Lee Staff: Annie Yeap, Lee Sook Foong, Tasha Merican & Mangleswary Subramaniam Outreach : Shakila Manan*, Lim Kah Cheng, Ivy Ho, Hajar Abdul Rahim, Susan Siew & Cindy Ruble Staff: Prema Devaraj, Tasha Merican, Poh Lerk Shih Mangleswary Subramaniam Advocacy : Karen Lai*, Lalitha Menon, Christine Khor, Mariam Lim, Susan Siew, Ivy Ho and Shakila Manan Staff: Melissa Akhir, Prema Devaraj & Loh Cheng Kooi * denotes Chairperson 8| Lee Sook Foong Social Worker Tasha Merican Mangleswary Subramanian Project Officers Working Groups : Mariam Lim* Annie Yeap Lay Pheng Service Coordinator (left for further studies Sept 2012) : Mariam Lim* Chin Khuan Sui, Melissa Mohd Akhir Advocacy Officer Lau Swee Li PPW Coordinator Standing Committee Goh Sze Mei Service Manager PPW Staff Fundraising Ambassador : Annie Chin Human Resources Loh Cheng Kooi Executive Director Prema Devaraj Program Director General Committee 2012 President WCC Staff PPW : Chin Khuan Sui*, Christine Khor, Cheah Gaik Kim, Maria Francisca Belavandram, Beh Chooi Heah Staff: Lau Swee Li, Lim Chooi Leng & Jennie Antonisamy ANNUAL REVIEW 2012 | 9 PROGRAMMES & ACTIVITIES2012 Table 2: Types of cases handled by WCC & PPW in 2012 Types of cases Annie Yeap, Prema Devaraj, Goh Sze Mei, Lee Sook Foong, Tasha Merican, Mangleswary Subramaniam, Lau Swee Li, Lim Chooi Leng and Jennie Antoniosamy INTRODUCTION T he move into a bigger office in 2012 improved our service work as it provided a better counseling environment and attracted more women to seek help from WCC. Service work saw an increase in the number of clients. We also expanded our outreach to Hospital Seberang Jaya. Service advocacy became core to our work in 2012, with increased requests for WCC to follow up with enforcement agencies as well as to give emotional support for sexual assault victims and their family members through court trials. Other interesting programs last year included an innovative women’s empowerment project for ex-clients and a pilot project for children, largely initiated by Pusat Perkhidmatan Wanita (PPW). COUNSELING SERVICES Table 1: Number of Clients handled in 2012 I 10 | WCC PPW Total New clients 381 267 648 Former clients 57 47 104 Total no. 438 314 752 n 2012, WCC and PPW handled a total of 752 clients. 648 were new clients, an 8% increase compared to 601 cases in year 2011. WCC office itself saw an 11% increase in new clients, partly due to the increased number of cases referred by Hospital Pulau Pinang (HPP) and also because of the greater visibility of the new office. For PPW, the number of cases have increased consistently over the last three years due to the large demand for counseling services on the mainland and also due to word of mouth by former clients to other women in need. Women’s Centre for Change, Penang PPW No. of Cases % No. of Cases % Domestic Violence 115 30 37 14 Marital Problem 107 28 98 37 Relationship 42 11 48 18 Rape / Incest 13 4 2 1 Sexual Harassment 5 1 0 0 Child Sexual Abuse 8 2 1 0 Legal Advice 48 13 40 15 Information Seeking 25 6 32 12 Others 18 5 9 3 381 100 267 100 Total The types of cases handled by both centres remain unchanged. The majority of the total cases in WCC were domestic violence (30%) followed by marital cases (28%). Many of the domestic violence cases were referred by HPP. Comparatively, the majority of PPW’s cases dealt with marital issues (37%) whereas only 14% of cases were domestic violence. Interestingly, out of the 152 domestic violence cases received in WCC and PPW, 67% of the clients lodged police reports. This comparatively high percentage indicates that many women are more aware of their rights. But out of these, only “ 10 women applied for Interim Protection Orders (IPOs) to protect themselves from further violence from their husbands. Marital issues handled in WCC were mainly related to husbands having breakdown (31%) while in PPW it was mostly due to communication breakdown issues (49%). WCC service continues to serve women from lower income groups. 66% of WCC and PPW’s clients earned less than RM1,500 and most of them only have secondary education. Of these, 36% were home makers and another 30% were working women. “ Service Report WCC I stand now as a free woman, free from hell and importantly free from him. I thank God for allowing me to still be able to breathe the fresh air I once thought I’d never breathe again. — 28 year old client with 2 children ANNUAL REVIEW 2012 | 11 pROGRAMMES & ACTIVITIES 2012 TELEPHONE Others 6% Child Abuse 1% Sexual Harassment 1% COUNSELING Domestic Violence 22% Information Seeking 20% In 2012, WCC and PPW received a total of 2,395 telephone calls: 1,078 were new and 1,317 were follow-up calls. The majority of telephone calls received by WCC were mainly related to domestic violence issues and individuals seeking information of various resources whereas PPW mainly dealt with marital issues and information enquiries. In light of the phone call data, we have recognised a need for service staff to be equipped with legal knowledge and to be updated on the availability of community resources. Marital Problems 17% Legal Matters 19% Rape / Incest 4% Relationship 10% WCC Total calls: 1,290 calls ONLINE COUNSELING Legal Matters 11% Sexual Harassment 4% Others 16% Information Seeking 21% Relationship 12% Marital Problems 23% Domestic Violence 13% WCC online counseling received a total of 59 emails in 2012. More than one third of the emails were related to marital issues; another 15% dealt with domestic violence issues. The rest of the emails were enquiries relating to legal matters, relationship issues, sexual harassment, child sexual abuse and family matters. SHELTER “ In 2012, WCC provided shelter to nine abused women and eight children. After a temporary stay in our shelter, most of the clients went back to their relatives or siblings. We also assisted two clients to find a new home and found employment for a client to enable her to start a new life with her child. “ PPW Total calls: 1,105 calls I cry in my heart but still my tears flow from my eyes. I beg to God to take my life so that I don’t have to deal with my husband anymore... 12 | Women’s Centre for Change, Penang — 31 year old domestic violence victim with 2 children ONE STOP CRISIS CENTRE (OSCC) This year is the fourth year of collaboration between WCC and OSCC in Hospital Pulau Pinang. On the mainland, we made significant progress with Hospital Seberang Jaya (HSJ) which began referring sexual assault cases to PPW in March 2012. Table 3: Cases Referral by OSCC HPP and HSJ in 2012 Types of Cases No. of Clients Referred by HPP No. of Clients Handled by WCC No. of Clients Referred by HSJ No. of Clients Handled by PPW Domestic Violence 171 119 33 23 Sexual Assault 51 41 27 17 Total 222 160 60 40 Overall, the number of cases referred to WCC by HPP has increased tremendously to 73%. In HPP, domestic violence cases showed a three-fold increase whereas sexual assault cases showed a noticeable decrease of 32% (51 compared to 75 cases in 2011). The drop was mainly due to the difficulty in getting consent from the parents of underage clients, as most of the sexual assault victims were below 18 years of age. Out of 282 cases referred by both hospitals (222 in HPP and 60 in HSJ), the social workers were able to reach 70% of the clients (200 cases). SERVICE ADVOCACY To enhance our Rape Survivors Support Network, WCC and PPW jointly with HPP organised a oneday training for nurses from six hospitals to train them to handle medico-legal cases systematically. Subsequently, HSJ for the first time invited WCC and PPW to have an OSCC meeting and referred more clients to PPW. Two interagency meetings were held at HPP and the police department this year to discuss possible collaborative efforts to improve the handling of sexual assault cases. I n 2012, WCC service work expanded greatly into service advocacy. We are now able to provide court support for clients who have experienced sexual assault and to follow up domestic violence cases with enforcement agencies. This work is labour intensive and time consuming. One challenge that many of our domestic violence clients face constantly has been the failure to receive appropriate attention from the relevant enforcement officer. One client has filed 13 police reports since 2005 and only in 2011, with the support from WCC, did the client finally obtain an Interim Protection Order (IPO). Subsequently, the husband was charged and was given a good behavior bond for two years. Unfortunately, the woman was beaten again. Clearly her husband breached the IPO and bond. Her husband was finally arrested and once again charged. It was very frustrating for both the client and WCC to keep pursuing the police officers to expedite their work. WCC supported seven sexual assault clients in court. Three cases were assisted by our watching brief lawyers. Before the court trial started, WCC went through the court process with our clients and even brought the clients to view the court room and witness room in order to prepare them emotionally. When our clients received the subpoena to go to court, WCC accompanied the client and her family members to court and provided emotional support to them. It was quite challenging that some of these trials kept being postponed which made our clients suffer greatly. ANNUAL REVIEW 2012 | 13 pROGRAMMES & ACTIVITIES 2012 STRENGTHENING COUNSELING SERVICES FOR WOMEN’S NGOs n 2012, as a follow up to help strengthen counseling services for women’s NGOs in other states, WCC organized two workshops for Sabah Women Action Resource Group (SAWO) and Sarawak Women for Women (SWWS). Their staff and volunteers were trained in counseling service skills and educated in dealing with domestic violence issues. Over 30 participants from these organizations benefited from the workshops. It was encouraging to learn that some went on to organize similar workshops in their community. EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMME FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN A joint effort of WCC and PPW saw the development of a one-year “Women’s Stories Project” (WSP) to empower a group of 13 women with past experience of marital problems or domestic violence. WCC designed a participatory approach of ‘storytelling-drawing-reflecting-writing’ of their life experiences, which was used during a series of six workshops. These women came together and depicted their hopes and dreams through creative drawings, which were 14 | Women’s Centre for Change, Penang The program was essential in helping children to deal with their emotions and their parents’ issues more positively. Another workshop on “Parenting after Divorce”was held in Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia for a total of 98 women. Besides learning positive parenting skills, participants were able to share their struggles and reflect on ways to find a balance between work, children and self-care. Towards the year end, WCC and PPW organized an outing to Pulau Jerejak to give our clients and their children a chance to bond as families. Eleven single mothers and 26 children appreciated the reconnection and interaction, and participated in fun activities like flying fox and telematch. CONCLUSION T his year, the service staff was fully occupied with the increased number of counseling cases and the expansion of service advocacy work. The year ahead looks to be an exciting one where more selfdevelopment programs for women will be developed. We hope to mobilize more volunteers to support our staff, particularly in dealing with the huge number of OSCC cases and telephone counseling. “ “ I later produced into a table-top calendar. 2,000 calendars were sold and the money raised will be used to promote more women’s empowerment programs in the future. PPW also developed many programs for women. A series of eight sessions on “Journey to Intimacy” were organized to help clients improve communication and enhance family relationships. Another enhancement program on “Eliminating Destructive Communication Patterns in Marriage” and a self-esteem building program were also conducted. In a pilot project to help children with parents going through divorce, PPW embarked on a project entitled “Helping Children Deal with Family Stress”. The eight session program was conducted with six children 10 to 12 years old. PPW is the tree trunk and WCC is the root of the tree. I am the cocoon and I have to go through the life cycle before I can be transformed into a butterfly. — 35 year old woman from Women’s Stories Project ANNUAL REVIEW 2012 | 15 Outreach Report 2012 Prema Devaraj, Tasha Merican, Mangleswary Subramaniam and Jennie Antonisamy W hat a varied and interesting year the outreach team had! While continuing full swing with school programs for youth and children, the outreach team embarked on a new project on promoting safety in partnership with Think City. At the same time, focusing on the need to reach out to more women in the community, the outreach team partnered with the Penang Women’s Development Corporation. The team travelled to more rural parts of the state and also broadened the scope of work to include women’s participation, empowerment and rights. PROMOTING SAFETY IN GEORGE TOWN WORLD HERITAGE SITE (WHS) I n collaboration with Think City, WCC embarked on a project “Promoting Safety in George Town WHS” which aimed to empower and capacitate children on sexual violence prevention and to encourage the inner city residents of George Town to be involved in making George Town a safer place for all. From March to July, WCC trained facilitators who, together with our staff, went to six schools and taught over 450 children in the inner city to differentiate between good and bad touches and where to seek help, using the WCC sexual abuse prevention package Bijak Itu Selamat (Be Smart, Be Safe). WCC also translated our children’s booklet Nina and Her Secret, which encourages children to tell someone about sexual abuse, into Mandarin. A children’s poster on preventing child sexual abuse Jika ini berlaku (If this happens…) was also produced in Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin. These 4,000 posters have been widely distributed to all schools and to the one stop crisis centres (OSCC) at the hospitals in Penang. Between July and November WCC worked closely with three community organizations: the Indian Muslim Community Organisation Malaysia (iMCOM), the Kapitan Keling Mosque Qaryah Committee and Penang Arts Education 16 | Women’s Centre for Change, Penang BIJAK ITU SELAMAT (BIS) B ijak Itu Selamat or Be Smart Be Safe program continued this year with WCC reaching out to children in schools and training educators to ensure the continuity of the program. This year, WCC conducted BIS for 2,634 children from 40 primary schools and community organizations, doubling the number of schools reached in 2011. There are 306 primary schools in Penang, and WCC made a conscious effort to seek out schools which have not previously had the BIS program. This year we reached out to 25 new schools including schools in the inner city through the Think City Project and also Tamil schools on the mainland through the Malar Project, which focused on Tamil speaking children. In May, WCC trained 38 primary school counselors on the BIS program. The teachers were taught not only how to conduct the program but how to become more pro-active in handling child sexual abuse matters (recognising and reporting child sexual abuse). The program received much media coverage. Of the 38 primary school teachers who underwent the training, more than half were able to conduct the program or portions of the program by the end of 2012. WCC also trained 125 teachers in Perak, in a collaborative effort with Perak Women for Women (PWW) and support from Pejabat Pelajaran Daerah Seri Manjung and Kerian. As more and more teachers are able to conduct the BIS program, increasing numbers of children will be equipped with an awareness of child sexual abuse and will know to seek help immediately should the issue arise. PREVENTING ICT VIOLENCE Programs for Young People (Arts Ed). The WCC and these organizations held several consultations with the adults and children living in the Kapitan Keling Mosque area. Safety issues were identified and suggestions for making the area safer were put forward by the children and residents themselves. In late November, a Stakeholders Dialogue chaired by YB Chow Kon Yeow was held, bringing together relevant partners, agencies and residents to discuss how best to move forward to make the heritage area a safer place to stay. A public launch was held and an exhibition of the project was displayed on the morning of the dialogue. WCC’s partnership with Think City enabled a process of people’s participation and collaboration. Our wish is that this endeavor is replicated throughout George Town so that we can work together to create a safer Penang. W CC’s program on preventing ICT violence and promoting cyber safety among youth, Be Savvy Be Safe, carried on into the second year with the production of a pamphlet Savvy Connections printed in both Bahasa Malaysia and English. The program continued to be received with great enthusiasm, reaching a total of 971 students from eight secondary schools. As part of this effort, WCC was also sponsored by Georgy Girl – Phaik Choo Memorial Fund and reached out to Form 2 and Form 3 students in St. George’s Girls School in July and October. This year WCC conducted a survey of 100 school boys between the ages of 15 to 17 from 10 schools on the mainland and island, on the usage of the handphone and internet. The key findings of this survey show that young men have access to or are accessing sexually explicit material including pornography, through their handphones or through the internet. The survey analysis shows that approximately 4 in 10 teenage boys had received sexually explicit calls/ sms-es/videos and approximately 6 in 10 teenage boys had been shown sexually suggestive material via handphones. With regard to internet usage, 1 in 4 boys admitted to browsing through porn websites. WCC feels that this is an area which needs addressing urgently and will be looking into developing a specific program for boys. ANNUAL REVIEW 2012 | 17 GENDER AND PERSONAL SAFETY P romoting gender equality and personal safety among young men and women continues to be part of the outreach team’s activities, as concern over the sexual exploitation of young people continues. This year WCC reached over 640 youth in six secondary schools and three colleges. Using modules from the Respect program, WCC staff and volunteers were able to get young people to look at gender as well as safety issues in relationships. In addition to this, WCC has trained educators to conduct the program independently. Eighteen youth workers from the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) were trained early in the year and by the end of the year had carried out the program with 120 refugee youths in eight refugee learning centres and schools in Selangor. The materials of the program were well received and with ICMC sponsorship, the video clip Mabuk Cinta was dubbed into English in October, making it available to an English speaking audience. WCC also trained 28 educators from the Vivekkam Motivation Team in September who then went on to conduct modules of the program with 100 teenagers at a youth camp in early October. WORKING WITH WOMEN T o incorporate the empowerment of women in outreach programs, WCC began a partnership with the newly formed Penang Women’s Development Corporation (PWDC). WCC was involved in conducting training sessions in two workshops jointly organized by the Society for Good Governance and Gender Equality (3Gs) and PWDC, in March. The first workshop was a half day session on Gender and Voter Education with 30 participants, and the second workshop was a one day Women’s Political Leadership Training, where 20 women from different political parties worked together to look at what was needed to support or enhance the position of women in politics. In June, WCC conducted a workshop organized by PWDC, Persatuan Kebajikan Wanita Mawar Pulau Pinang and Jawatankuasa Kemajuan dan Keselamatan (JKKK) Bakau Tua for 30 women in Penanti on Isu Wanita Komuniti. Later in October, as part of Local Democracy Month, WCC teamed up with SUARAM and PWDC to conduct two half day workshops with community women in Penaga and Teluk Kumbar. A total of 60 participants attended. During the workshops, WCC promoted awareness regarding the lack of women in political leadership and explained the reasons why more women should be involved in local democracy. They also made participants aware of the things that hold women back from full involvement and participation in local democracy. WCC also began working with the Northeast District office to have access to JKKKs (Village Welfare and Security Committees) in the district, so as to reach more women in the community. 18 | Women’s Centre for Change, Penang Advocacy Report Melissa Mohd Akhir, Prema Devaraj and Loh Cheng Kooi A dvocating for clients is a component of WCC’s work to ensure clients receive adequate support services as is their right. WCC advocates via the services we provide to clients daily, and on a wider scale by engaging with institutions to drive change in unfair systems so that clients are not left powerless, especially after suffering from a crime. The highlight for advocacy in 2012 was the notable engagement with service providers to advocate for better support for women and children who suffer from domestic violence and sexual crimes, and to pursue their rights as victims in the criminal justice process. VICTIM ADVOCACY AND SUPPORT A ground-breaking success this year has been the collaboration with the Penang State Prosecution Unit in conducting a full-day training for 20 Deputy Public Prosecutors (DPPs) from Penang, Perak and Kedah. The training aimed to sensitise DPPs on victims’ experience during investigation and court trial so that they can better understand the victims, and help reduce the trauma from the investigation and trial process. We hope this training will lead to a more effective prosecution of sexual crimes. The contents of the above training was based on WCC’s experience in providing support in court for victims of sexual crimes. The DPPs were informed on the research regarding past cases in court and the range of victim’s reactions to crimes that the DPPs may not have been able to understand in past cases. The DPPs were informed of a list of protection measures available for the victim pretrial and during trial, as well as the positive and negative aspects of a sexual crime trial. Throughout 2012, WCC actively assisted clients through seven court cases (six sexual crimes and one case of domestic violence). WCC’s court support for clients during the pre-trial preparations includes: a) familiarising them with the court process and explaining what the witness goes through during trial; b) getting protection for victims and family members who were harassed before their day in court; and c) liaising with the prosecutor and enforcement agencies on arrangements to minimise the victim’s trauma as she gives evidence. The support during an on-going trial includes: a) Obtaining legal representation from our volunteer lawyers to conduct watching briefs as an avenue to protect the victim’s rights during trial; b) Assisting the prosecutor with legal arguments that support the victim’s evidence; and c) Providing the victim with an avenue to explain the impact the crime had on them and the suffering it caused (Victim Impact Statement), and advising them on their rights to compensation for the injuries suffered. ANNUAL REVIEW 2012 | 19 “ “ On the day of my court hearing, my tears fell down without my noticing it. My hands suddenly became icy cold, and my whole body trembled uncontrollably. I was so nervous that I could practically hear my heart beating out of my chest. — Incest victim of 8 years CONSULTATIONS AND MONITORING W CC held dialogues with government agencies to advocate for overall improvement of the public institutions that help women and children. One such dialogue was with the Penang Police Department, chaired by the Chief Police Officer of Penang and attended by all District Chiefs and WCC General Committee members. WCC highlighted eight domestic violence and sexual crimes cases of concern. The focus was to sensitise enforcement officers to the client’s rights, for example, in cases where the police have delayed or resisted action to protect the client. At the end of the dialogue, the Police Department agreed to WCC working closer with the D11 (Sexual Crimes, Domestic Violence and Child Unit) division of the police to follow-up on all the repevant cases. They also agreed to regular dialogues with the police over issues arising in sexual crimes and domestic violence. At the national l e v e l , WCC was involved in efforts for consultation in legal reform for better laws that affect women and children. As part of the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG), WCC was involved in drafting the petition on highly controversial statutory rape issues including the sentencing of 20 | Women’s Centre for Change, Penang rapists in criminal trials. This petition highlighted the victim’s perspective in statutory rape, and was presented to the Minister in charge of Legal Affairs. The related press conference was publicised in the media. This form of civil society pressure contributed to the push for a Sentencing Council in Malaysia. As a form of monitoring of our government’s obligation on women and children’s rights, WCC gave feedback in NGO reports to the United Nations through JAG, the child rights coalition and Suhakam. These reports assess how well the law or policies which serve women and children have been implemented in Malaysia, and highlight the relevant NGO recommendations for better enforcement of these laws and policies. The reports were presented internationally in the CEDAW Report on women’s rights and the NGO Status Report on the Convention of the Rights of the Child, as well as in various other publications. PUBLIC AWARENESS OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN W CC’s work in empowering women and eliminating violence is primarily driven by public support and activism for the fundamental rights of women and children. To this end, activities to educate the greater community in these rights have also been an important component of advocacy in 2012. We were proud to organise two busloads taking 45 Penang women to participate in the Wanita Suara Perubahan event held in Petaling Jaya, Selangor and at the Esplanade in Penang in conjunction with International Women’s Day. In Selangor, we walked with more than 5,000 women from all over Malaysia, holding placards and banners with messages on gender rights. The crowd danced, shouted and sang to have women’s voices heard. As women are among the most vulnerable to corruption and bad governance, participants called for six demands: a government free of corruption, a decent living wage, a better quality of life, an end to violence against women and all genders, the repeal of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2011, and finally, free and fair elections. The national “Walk the Talk” event, held during the 16 days of activism against gender violence in November, had heartening turnout. During this event, 100 people walked from Straits Quay to Gurney Drive, holding placards demanding an end to sexual violence and advocating for safety for women and children. Jointly organised with Soroptimist International Club of Penang, the clear message of this event was to demand urgent action to stop violence against women and children, especially on the part of the enforcement agencies. As a means to educate the general public on gender issues to encourage equality in all spheres of public life, WCC continued to highlight important issues through press statements, letters to the editor and newspaper features. WCC and JAG provided comments on current issues to the press and were featured in magazine articles (print and online) as well as in a rare TV appearance. We wrote and spoke about justice for rape victims in the legal process and about the importance of understanding a child victim’s evidence, and we reminded the Minister for Women, Family and Community Development of pending women’s demands and issues,. The overall experience and summary of WCC’s advocacy in 2012 is that we are making positive forays into crucial areas of our struggle for rights, despite the numerous challenges that exist. WCC is extremely fortunate to be able to derive our strength from the support of our members, volunteers and the general public, in order to push on and stand together with our clients. We look upwards and onwards in gaining positive change for all women and children. ANNUAL REVIEW 2012 | 21 DIARY of EVENTS 2012 16 Tasha delivered a session on WCC’s partnership with the Hospital Pulau Pinang for 100 staff and nurses. 17 & 8 Mar Using Satir model therapy, PPW coordinator Lau Swee Li trained WCC and PPW staff and volunteers to enhance their skills in understanding the process and ways to support our clients. 18 9th General Committee 2011/12 meeting 22 WCC participated in The Star’s Bid and Win charity series and won the fourth prize with 68,164 Star Points tokens worth RM10,000 of Panasonic electronic goods. Staff Mangles and Jennie, volunteer Chueng Kwan Leng and interns Mariyah and Crystal conducted a session on Teenage Friendships and Sexual Violence for 41 Form 1 to 3 students at SMK Machang Bubuk. 22 - 25 12 Social worker Lee Sook Foong attended a 4-day training of trainers’ workshop on Social Competency Frameworks in Kuala Lumpur aimed at developing a clear understanding of social work competency. 8th General Committee 2011/2012 meeting 23, 28 & 29 16 WCC held an appreciation ceremony for Lions Club of George Town, their sisters’ clubs and Mr & Mrs Tan Kheng Liat for their donation for the lift installation in WCC’s new premises. Prema and Tasha conducted three sessions of the Ok Tak Ok touch program for 18 children aged 6 to 11 years at the Pusat Jagaan Kanak-Kanak Padang Tembak. 24 PPW staff Jennie Antonisamy went to SJKT Mayfield and SJKT Malakoff to conduct the BIS program in Tamil for 35 and 38 standard 6 students respectively. 25 WCC set up a promotional booth at SMK AL Mashoor and SMK Padang Polo at an event entitled Remaja Sihat, Lestari Kehidupan organised by an NGO, Payong. JANUARY 6 Jan - 6 Feb 18 & 2 Feb WCC project officers Tasha Merican and Mangleswary Subramaniam conducted a training on Bijak Itu Selamat (BIS) program for 50 trainee teachers at Institusi Pendidikan Guru, Kampus Pulau Pinang. 20 Tasha represented WCC at the Muzakarah Memperkasakan Keharmonian Institusi Kekeluargaan meeting organised by Pejabat Agama Islam. FEBRUARY 3 & 10 WCC conducted in-house training for 17 volunteers on the BIS program; General Committee member Susan Siew presented on “Understanding child sexual abuse” while Tasha explained the contents of the VCD Sentuhan Ok Tak Ok. 5 WCC staff Annie Yeap, volunteers Kae Shih and Lee Y’ng, assisted by Kew Si Cheng, Crystal, Cindy and Wong Soo Lan conducted a talk on Circle of Friendship & ICT Safety to 120 students in Standard 6 at SJKC Chung San. 9 Jennie went to SJKT Mak Mandin to conduct the BIS program in Tamil for 112 Standard 6 students. 8 WCC staff Tasha and volunteer Cindy Ruble ran interactive sessions on Teenage Relationships and ICT Violence for 50 teenage girls at SMK Methodist Girls School. 10 10 WCC advocacy officer Melissa Mohd Akhir attended an NGO Roundtable on Domestic Violence organised by the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) of the PM’s Office to call for standardisation of procedures by enforcement agencies. WCC staff Mangles, Tasha and Annie conducted an in-house training on the BIS program for 11 volunteers in Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia. 10 The International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) invited WCC program director, Prema Devaraj and Mangles to conduct a training based on the Respect manual for 18 Burmese community workers. PPW organised the first Mandarin Women’s Support Group session for 27 women. Facilitator Swee Li helped the participants understand how they can improve communication to enhance relationships and marriages. 13 Malaysian Child Resource Institute interviewed Melissa about our documentation on child abuse cases to prepare for an Alternative Report on Malaysia’s Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC). 15 & 16 22 | MARCH Women’s Centre for Change, Penang ANNUAL REVIEW 2012 | 23 18 APRIL 2 PPW conducted a Women’s Support Group session for 30 single mothers and low income women to discuss women’s self-worth and development. 2 WCC ran a promotional booth at Loyar Burok Rock4Rights concert at Fort Cornwallis. 4 & 14 Prema, Mangles, Tasha and Cindy conducted in-house training on gender awareness from 11 new volunteer facilitators on gender issues and violence against women. These volunteers received on-the-job training by facilitating the Teenage Relationships program at SMK Air Itam, SMJKC Union and Tenby International School. 5 WCC President Mariam Lim, staff Lerk Shih and Cheng Kooi attended the first Microsoft Roundtable in Penang together with approximately 30 NGO representatives. 19 Tasha observed trainee teacher Nazira Roslee conduct the BIS program for 20 Standard 5 students at SK Padang Tembak. 19 WCC co-organised IWD Talent 2012 with International Women’s Association, Young Women’s Christian Association, World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action and Soroptimist International Club of Penang. 5 21 WCC staff Prema, Swee Li and Tasha attended an inter-agency networking meeting with medical personnel at the One Stop Crisis Centre (OSCC), Hospital Seberang Jaya. Volunteer Chin Jing Ping went to SK Batu Maung to conduct the BIS program to 101 Standard 5 students. 6 WCC 27th Annual General Meeting at the Centre’s new office. 1st General Committee 2012/2013 meeting. Staff Prema, Tasha, Lerk Shih and Mangles conducted a session on gender issues with 20 trainee teachers at IPGM Tengku Bainun. 9 WCC staff and Sook Foong conducted a 2-hour session on domestic violence with 22 student nurses from Lam Wah Ee Nursing School. Mangles and Tasha conducted a session on gender issues with 20 student nurses at KDU Penang School of Nursing. 12 WCC and PPW’s Service Working Group held an in-house training session on the Domestic Violence Act Amendment to 11 staff and volunteers conducted by Melissa. 24 26 27 28 24 | In conjunction with International Women’s Day (IWD) 2012, WCC brought two busloads of women to join rally Wanita Suara Perubahan at Petaling Jaya to demand for a corruptionfree government and better living conditions for people. Tasha and Kwan Leng went to SK Bukit Gelugor to conduct the BIS program for 90 Standard 5 students. 19 Volunteer Yu Jo, assisted by Woo Boon Leng and Su Lan, carried out her first BIS session in Mandarin for 52 Standard 5 students at SJKC Min Sin. 29 Annie gave a session on issues of violence against women to 28 medical students at Penang Medical College. 29 Trainee teacher Ahmad Azfal went to SK Sri Aman to conduct the BIS program for 42 Standard 5 students. 30 WCC and PPW Service Working Group held a training session on social work competency conducted by Sook Foong for staff. 31 WCC outreach conducted an in-house training to 13 volunteers on ICT: Be Savvy, Be Safe program, which includes negative and positive aspects of the internet and hand phones. Women’s Centre for Change, Penang WCC and PPW collaborated with Hospital Pulau Pinang and held a one-day training on Best Practices for nurses and staff from the One Stop Crisis Centre from 6 hospitals from the 5 districts in Penang. Participants also paid visits WCC and PPW. 19 Mangles and Kwan Leng conducted the ICT: Be Savvy, Be Safe program for 62 Form 2 students at SMK Zainal Abidin. 20 In collaboration with Think City, WCC together with Penang Women Development Corporation and Penang Heritage Trust co-organised the launch of the book Kaleidoscope: The Memoirs of P.G.Lim at the E & O Hotel. WCC past president, Dr Maznah Mohamad gave a lecture on Thinking & Feeling Gender in the History of Malaysia during the event. ANNUAL REVIEW 2012 | 25 21 2nd General Committee meeting 20, 21 & 22 Melissa attended a training of trainers entitled Eradicating crimes of trafficking in Persons organised by the Council for Anti-Trafficking in Persons and the National Council of Women Organisations. 21 22 Tasha, Crystal, Mariyah, Sally and Rebecca conducted a session of the Sentuhan Ok Tak Ok program for the children aged 6 years while volunteer Rosalind and staff Mangles conducted the BIS program for 24 students from 11 to 13 years old at St Joseph’s Home. PPW organised the Women’s Support Group session titled Love Languages for 20 women to learn practical and powerful ways to express love. The session was facilitated by Swee Li. MAY 7 Mangles, Tasha and Kae Shih conducted the Respect program for a total of 76 Form 1 students at SMK Air Itam. 9 Mangles went to SJKT Subramaniyar Barathee to conduct the BIS program for a total of 80 Standard 5 and 6 students. 12 PPW organised a Women’s Support Group session titled Family of Origin for women to learn that a woman’s family history impacts her behaviour with her partner. 12 WCC, jointly with the Penang State Legal Advisor’s Office, conducted a training workshop on Justice for Victims of Sexual Crimes for 20 Deputy Public Prosecutors in the northern states. 13 PPW organised a workshop on Parenting after Divorce for 37 single mothers and 38 children at Dewan Serbaguna, Taman Chai Leng. Priscilla Ho, an experienced creative play therapist, conducted the workshop in Bahasa Malaysia. 22 WCC vice-president, Lailtha Menon delivered a Tamil talk entitled Cara-cara Meningkatkan Keyakinan Diri Wanita to 38 Indian single mothers organised by PPW, Persatuan Ibu Tunggal Nibong Tebal and JKKK Inderawasih. 24 24 26 27 26 | 13 Prema shared WCC’s collaboration at the first interagency meeting at OSCC, Hospital Pulau Pinang. In conjunction with Nurses Day, Annie Yeap delivered a talk on violence against women to 100 nursing students while WCC volunteers Sim Bee Hwa, Jane Yew, Jocelyn Ho, Nadia Ali and Chia Wui Jia set up a promotional booth to sell its merchandise at KDU Penang. 15 Mastura conducted the BIS program for 59 Standard 5 students at SK Sungai Gelugor. Woo, Soo Lan and Annie went to SKJC Shang Wu to conduct the BIS program in Mandarin to 148 Standard 5 students. 15 & 16 Volunteers Andrew Koay and Cheah Wui Jia conducted the BIS program for 100 Form 2 students at SMK Bukit Gambir. Melissa represented WCC at a training of trainers entitled Legal Frameworks and Child Protection, organised by the Malaysian Child Resource Institute (MCRI). 17 Prema and Lerk Shih gave a briefing about WCC’s work to 10 students and lecturers from Logsdon Seminary, Hardins Simmons University, Texas, USA. 19 WCC and PPW jointly organised a session entitled Myself, My Life and My Dreams to 30 ex-clients and volunteers to encourage them to understand and treat themselves better. 19 WCC was a beneficiary at Malaysia 5th World Belly Dance Day Charity Dinner organised by Zero Fitness Dance Studio. Mangles went to SJKT Ramakrishna to conduct the BIS program in Tamil for 120 Standard 5 and 6 students while the trainee teacher Hafiza did a similar program at SK Bukit Gambir for 83 Standard 6 students. Women’s Centre for Change, Penang ANNUAL REVIEW 2012 | 27 20 Tasha attended a workshop entitled Sexuality and Children with Special Needs, Promoting Positive Development and Preventing Sexual Abuse through Creative Arts Therapy by Professor Sue Jennings, a trainer from United Kingdom. 21 Mangles conducted a talk on sexual harassment to 60 visually impaired trainees at St Nicholas’ Home for the Blind. 23 WCC outreach conducted a training workshop on BIS child sexual abuse prevention program for 40 primary school counselors. 25 Prema gave a brief introduction about WCC’s work to 15 Canadian interns from University of Alberta as part of their program with KANITA, USM. 28 - 30 WCC Committee Member Ivy Ho attended a 3-day training workshop on Communication for Development (C4D) organised by UNICEF in Kuala Lumpur. JUNE Jun & Sep 28 | Prema and Mangles gave a briefing on domestic violence to the State Legislative Assembly persons of Daerah Timur Laut, government agency representatives, Penghulu and Jawatankuasa Kecil Kampung (JKKK). 2 WCC Review Meeting for 20 staff and General Committee members 7-9 WCC Committee member Susan Siew and staff Mangles went for an exposure trip to visit social welfare organisations in Songkhla Province, Thailand, hosted by the Royal Thai Consulate-General Penang. Women’s Centre for Change, Penang 9 & 10 Prema delivered a presentation entitled Protecting Children Against Violence: The Role of the Community and moderated a workshop entitled Addressing Gaps in the Child Protection at the 3rd National Conference Violence Against Children – Spectrum of Hope, organised by Persatuan Pengasuh Berdaftar Malaysia (PPBM) in Kuala Lumpur. 13 Volunteer Soo Lan went to SJKC Li Teik (caw) to conduct the BIS program to 37 Standard 5 and 6 students. 14 Tasha went to SK Hutchings to conduct the BIS program for 23 Standard 5 and 6 students. 14 WCC General Committee member Molly Lee represented WCC at the Intel Involved Matching Grant Program (IIMGP) Pay Out Ceremony. 15 - 17 WCC, hosted by Sabah Women’s Action Resource Group (SAWO), ran a 3-day workshop on Violence Against Women and Children in Kota Kinabalu to strengthen the counseling services for 18 participants. 16 Kae Shih and Li Ying conducted the Respect program for 79 Form 1 -5 students at SMJKC Union. 16 Jun -19 Jul PPW conducted 6 sessions based on the Journey to Intimacy program developed by Dr Huang Wei-Jen. The group was facilitated by Swee Li. 18 Volunteers Kae Shih and Li Ying conducted the ICT: Be Savvy, Be Safe program to 107 Form 1 and Remove students at SMJKC Sacred Heart, Balik Pulau. 20 Volunteer Soo Lan went to SJKC Li Teik (A) to conduct the BIS program to 135 Standard 5 and 6 students. 21 Volunteers Kwan Leng and Wui Jia conducted the ICT: Be Savvy, Be Safe program for 86 Form 2 students at SMK (P) Sri Mutiara. 22 Volunteers Sally Alexander and Sukhveer Kaur went to SK Convent Lebuh Light to conduct the BIS program to 75 Standard 4 students. 23 Cheng Kooi shared WCC’s work during the Girl Guides Association Meeting aimed at networking with NGOs in Penang. 25 Jane, Li Ying and Miaw conducted the BIS program to 153 Standard 5 students at SJKC Union. ANNUAL REVIEW 2012 | 29 27 Mangles, Lerk Shih, Andrew and Wui Jia conducted the Respect program to 50 Form 2 students at Tenby International School. 28 Prema gave a briefing on domestic violence and its impact on women and children to 40 representatives of Dewan Undangan Negeri and government agencies during the Mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Tindakan Daerah. 28 Mangles conducted the Be Savvy, Be Safe program for 46 Form 3 and 5 students at SMK Sungai Nibong. 29 Andrew went to SJKC Li Teik (B) to conduct the BIS program for 31 Standard 5 students. 30 PPW organised a half-day session to educate women on self-worth for 20 Malay speaking women. The session was facilitated by Puan Noor Zakiah. 30 Prema conducted a workshop entitled Isu Wanita Komuniti for 30 community women, organised by Penang Women’s Development Corporation (PWDC), Persatuan Kebajikan Wanita Mawar Pulau Pinang and JKKK Bakau Tua in Seberang Perai Utara. JULY 30 | 3,5,10 &12 Under the sponsorship of Georgy Girl-Phaik Choo Memorial Fund, WCC conducted the Be Savvy, Be Safe program for 210 Form 2 students in St Georges Girls School. 7 3rd General Committee meeting 13 July & 21 Sept WCC service coordinator Annie Yeap conducted two lectures on violence against women at the Penang Medical College to 56 students. Women’s Centre for Change, Penang 14 PPW Coordinator Lau Swee Li conducted a Women’s Support Group session in Mandarin entitled Eliminating Destructive Communication Patterns in a Marriage to 25 women. 14 WCC set up a promotional booth at Penang Christian Centre’s 31st anniversary carnival celebration and was one of its beneficiaries. 17 WCC staff, Annie, Liz and Tasha attended the workshop entitled Integrating Creative Arts into Counseling Practice for social workers, NGOs and government bodies. 18 WCC key General Committee members and staff had a meeting with Chief Police Officer of Penang, Dato’ Wira Ayub Hj Yaakob and his officer to discuss 10 specific cases on domestic violence and sexual assault which faced problematic handling by investigating officers. 20 Cheng Kooi attended a cheque ceremony at St Georges Girls’ School Open Day for the sponsorship of the Be Savvy, Be Safe program by Georgy GirlPhaik Choo Memorial Fund. 21 WCC conducted the child sexual abuse prevention program for 25 teachers at Sri Pelita School. 23 Jul & 26 Sep WCC was involved in preparatory meetings for workshops on local democracy held in Penaga and Teluk Kumbar. 25 WCC Promo Gang took part in the career and education fair at Methodist Boy’s School. 31 WCC Emergency General Meeting was held to pass several amendments to the WCC Constitution including our new logo and address. AUGUST 4 WCC as part of Penang Forum 5 organised A Public Dialogue with the CM: A Vision For An International Liveable City for more than 600 participants at Kompleks Masyarakat Penyayang. 7 Prema, Mangles, Latha and Mala conducted the BIS program in Tamil at SJKT Mahatma Gandhi, Sungai Siput. 11 4th General Committee Meeting ANNUAL REVIEW 2012 | 31 13 PPW staff Liz Tan kicked off the first of a series of 8 sessions of group therapy entitled Helping Children Deal with Family Stress with 6 children 10 to 12 years old whose parents were facing relationship issues. 16-17 18 22 Aug & 14 Sept 29 Mangles co-facilitated a session with Betty Yeoh and Ho Yock Lin from All Women Action Society Malaysia (AWAM) for training in equality, gender and gender discrimination at Star Cruise. WCC kicked off a year-long project Women’s Stories Project which uses a participatory approach to foster support amongst women who have had similar experiences. WCC held 2 preparatory meetings with Vivekkam Motivation Team prior to the training on gender sensitisation and portions of the WCC Respect module. Melissa attended training on Amicus Brief: Holding the State Accountable, organized by Perak Women for Women in Ipoh. SEPTEMBER 8 10 11 32 | Official opening by Penang Chief Minister to mark WCC’s new building at 241 Jalan Burma, Penang. Activities included food galore, jumble sale, concert, exhibition and children’s event. WCC Advocacy Officer, Melissa Akhir gave a talk on WCC’s role regarding child sexual abuse to 45 doctors and specialists at the Penang Hospital. Prema presented a paper on Community and Social Interventions for Victims at a half-day OSCC seminar organised by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G), Hospital Kuala Lumpur. The event was attended by Heads of Department of O&G and consultants from all hospitals in peninsular Malaysia. 11 Prema raised the issue of participation of people in local democracy at the launch of the Local Democracy Festival 2012 at Speakers Corner. 14 WCC promotional booth and merchandise were well received by medical students from all over Asia at the Global Health Fair at City Bayview Hotel. 18 Soo Lan and Lee Y’ng conducted the BIS program in Mandarin at SJKC Kheng Tean. Women’s Centre for Change, Penang 19,24, 25, 26 & 28 Under the Malar project, Jennie went to the respective Tamil schools SJKT Ladang Juru, Ladang Changkat, Batu Kawan, Ladang Kerian and Palaniandy to conduct the BIS program for a total of 183 students. 19 Mangles, Tasha, Anamary and Kwan Leng conducted a one-day training of the BIS program for 56 primary school teachers in the Manjung district, Perak, organised by Perak Women for Women and Soroptimist International. 21-24 WCC member Christine Khor attended a 4-day workshop in Bangkok to learn about the international laws related to eliminating discrimination against women, organised by the International Women’s Rights Action Watch (IWRAW). 22 Staff Tasha and PPW intern, Ooi Say Tee represented WCC at a dialogue with 40 USM students regarding Anti Keganasan. 25 Staff Mangles and Sook Foong gave a 2-hour lecture on Domestic Violence to 39 student nurses at the Lam Wah Ee Hospital. 29 PPW organized a half-day program entitled Saya Yakin, Saya Boleh for 30 women. 30 Jointly with PWDC, Prema and Mangles conducted a training on gender sensitization using the Respect module for 30 youth facilitators of Vivekkam Motivation Team (VMT). OCTOBER Oct to Dec WCC went to SMK Lunas, Kedah (122 students) and the White Lily Camp by Vivekkham (102 students) to conduct the Respect program for youths. Oct to Dec WCC’s Be Savvy, Be Safe program reached out to 360 students in five schools; SMK St Georges, St Xavier, Sri Mutiara and Sg Nibong and Tun Syed Syed Barakbah. 6 & 24 Women’s Stories Project workshops were held to engage women to reflect on their life experiences. During the workshops, the women created drawings and used storytelling to describe the challenges they faced. ANNUAL REVIEW 2012 | 33 13 WCC Advocacy Strategic Meeting 16 & 18 Jennie went to SJKT Ladang Sampah and SJKT Tasek Permai to conduct the BIS program in Tamil to a total of 46 students. 18 5th General Committee meeting 18 & 15 Dec WCC staff shared how WCC handles domestic violence and sexual abuse cases with health clinic staff at Balik Pulau and Komtar. 24 WCC and Think City launched project on Promoting Safety in George Town, which was attended by 60 people including community NGOs, residents, state agencies representatives and local ADUNs. 24 26 DECEMBER 1 PPW and WCC organised a funfilled trip to Pulau Jerejak for 11 families and 26 children. 1 WCC Community Outreach strategic meeting 9 Prema was invited to be one of 7 speakers for TEDxGurney Drive. She spoke about WCC’s work and how she got involved. 13 & 14 WCC jointly with PWDC held a capacity building workshop for Vivekkham members to train them on child sexual abuse and youth programs. Melissa represented WCC at the Consultative Meeting on Advocacy and Strengthening Capacity for NGOs on Domestic Violence in Johor Baru organised by KANITA and Reproductive Health Association of Kelantan. 15 6th General Committee meeting 19 PPW organised a workshop entitled Parenting after Divorce in Mandarin for 20 women and men. A high tea evening was held at WCC to discuss collaborative initiatives between Penang lawyers and WCC. 22 Persatuan Amal Masyarakat Cina, Taman Puteri Gunung invited PPW to conduct an awareness program on domestic violence attended by 37 of its members. 29 & 30 Jennie went to 3 Tamil schools, SJKT Ladang Jawi, Sungai Bakap and Ladang Bryam while Rosalind and Tasha went to SK Pinang Tunggal to conduct the BIS program to 187 students. 31 20 teacher trainees at the Institut Pendidikan Guru attended a WCC training on gender sensitisation. NOVEMBER 34 | 14 WCC accompanied a 15 year old child to her statutory rape case appeal hearing at the Penang High Court. 16 & 17 Staff Prema and Annie went to Kuching conducted a training to enhance counseling skills on domestic violence cases for volunteers of Sarawak Women for Women Society. 21 - 25 Melissa Akhir attended a training on Strengthening ASEAN’s Human Rights System through Legal Advocacy Efforts organised by USAID, Legal Aid Jakarta and Rule of Law Initiative. 25 About 100 people participated in the Walk the Talk: Stop Violence Against Women event held in conjunction with the worldwide 16 days of days of activism against violence against women. The Penang leg was organised by WCC and Soroptimist International Club of Penang. Women’s Centre for Change, Penang ANNUAL REVIEW 2012 | 35 Appreciationand Gratitude Donors & Sponsors AGENCIES & FOUNDATIONS Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (EED) MMK Women, Family and Community Development, Penang Lim Lean Teng Foundation Neoh Foundation Kempen Rakyat Think City Georgy Girl-Phaik Choo Memorial Fund Malar Project Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat Tun Sardon Foundation CHARITY BENEFICIARIES Malaysia 5th World Belly Dance Day Charity Dinner The Star Charity Walk (Ideal Property Dev S/B) Penang Christian Centre 31st Anniversary Carnival Che Hoon Khor Moral Uplifting 2012 Harmony Charity Food Fair Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers Heritage Explorer Trail Allen Cheung Jewellery Show QE II Fashion Xtravaganza 2012 Hotel Equatorial Christmas Charity Sales Rockwills Corporation Cobra Golfers PTCGS ORGANISATIONS / CORPORATIONS Goal Jet Technology Intel Volunteer Grant Program Kulim Wesley Methodist Church Lean Wah Thong Temple Air Itam Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill M S Elevators Sdn Bhd Pulau Pinang Clinic Sdn Bhd SuriaChem Sdn Bhd INDIVIDUALS Allan Chew Chan Chong Seng Cheah Huey Yee Chuah Chiew Peng Gooi Guat Lee Heah Hooi Peng Khoo Suan Sim Leong Keng Yuen Lim Tow Ho Loh Lean Lee Ong Eng Bin Ong Hui Ling Poh Li Suan Richard Rivalee Tag Beazley Tan Ai Chin Tan Hock Lim Tan Peek Jong Tan Siew Tee Teh Hoay Eim Tham Sock Ying Ung Siew Lee Vivien Ng Kum Yip Wong Siow Cheng In Memory of Helen Chan Swee Imm ... and to our many other supporters who gave generously to enable WCC to carry out its important work for society. 2012 BUILDING FUND DONORS ORGANISATIONS / CORPORATIONS Lee Foundation States of Malaya Lions Club of George Town Georgy Girl-Phaik Choo Memorial Fund IvoryCares Ken Keong S/B Perunding Trafik Klasik S/B Wei Leng Thean Temple INDIVIDUALS Chan Foong Yeen & Friends (New Zealand) Honey Tan Lay Ean Chan Hong Ee Lee Khek Mui Chan Lai Ngoh Lim Family (London) Chan Lai Sheong Loh Geok Mooi Cheng Bee Lee Mariam Lim Chin Sheng Bin Mona Lim Chok Leng Leng Tan Kwee Chan Chuah Lee Chin Tan Yeow Guan Dato' Chong Eng Keat In Memory of Dato' Loh Say Bee Dato' Lim Tiong Chin Ewe Soon Teik WOMEN'S STORIES PROJECT - Calendar 2013 Thank you to many generous people who donated and helped sell the table top Calendar 2013 for WCC including Budd & Darlene Hall, Celina Teh Poh Cheng, Lim Huat Chye Paul Joseph, Therese Tay & Ung Siew Lee. ANNUAL REVIEW 2012 | 37 Volunteers & Contributors Susan Siew Molly Lee WCC: BUILDING OFFICIAL OPENING, 8 September 2012 Goh Jie Ying WCC gratefully acknowledges and thanks our many supporters and friends who have so generously contributed, supported and volunteered their time and effort to make our building’s official opening such a success. Tan Saw Yen Ann Lee Andrew Koay Sri Mahes Thum Yuan Fong PTPL students Mariam Lim Christina Teh CHILDREN’S AMAZING TRAIL Lim Kah Cheng Rozana Merican Christy Chong Shakila Abdul Manan Anamary Sivatham Evanezel Khoo Seow Hwai Joo Jeremy Tee Teoh Soo Bee June Lim Janet Yeoh Leong Min See Wee Siew Eng Lim Zhi Cheng JUMBLE SALE Sally Alexander Sharon Thean Chew Win Win David Seow FOOD FAIR GALORE Wendy Ang Chang Mei Leng Janice Lau Wee Siew Eng Cecilia Yeap Jennie Tan Ooi Beng Huat Lim Bee Sim Maria Francisca Jack Ong Asian Tigers Mobility Khai Tat Enterprise Sdn Bhd Esther Wong Jane Tan Yew Min A.W. Faber-Castell (M) Sdn Bhd Lee Ching Seng Fong See Kim Gladys Lee Bayview Beach Resort Lim Suan Poh Buncho (M) Sdn Bhd Lone Pine Resort Canon Marketing (M) Sdn Bhd Maestro Swiss Chocolate Sdn Bhd China House Oasis Domino’s Pizza Malaysia Penang Butterfly Farm E & O Hotel PP ASIA Media Packaging Sdn Bhd Floralsense Creation Robert Lee George Town Festival Star Cruises Golden Fresh Sdn Bhd Threequarters Studio Golden Sands Resort Tropical Spice Garden Beh Chooi Heah Ben Wiseman Performers & Dancers 38 | Women’s Centre for Change, Penang MINI CONCERT EXHIBITION SPONSORS ANNUAL REVIEW 2012 | 39 Volunteers & Supporters WCC gratefully acknowledges many individuals who gave time and expertise. OUTREACH Aida Redza Alisha Koay Bebe Chan Cheah Wui Jia Jane Yew Ming Chueng Kwan Leng Jeremy Tee Cindy Ruble Jocelyn Ho Eunice Leo Kalpana Munusamy Foo Wei Lyn Khalveena Siva Adrian Cheah Liew Li Li Gan Bee Ching Koay Kar Ming Andrew Koay Lim Tze Cheng Ivy Ho Kumanan Kandasamy Chang Mei Leng Maria Kempster Chizuko Nakazato Ooi Meng Huat Chris Wolley Peter Chung Esther Chan Tan Chye Suan Esther Wong Tan Saw Yen Krista Goon Yeo Foo Tee Lim Cheng Hwang Lim Yeong Li Low Yu Jo Man Yu-Jyne Mageswari Pattel Meyuri Michelle Mimi Chuah Nadia Ali Nancy Ong Ng Chia Wen SERVICE Ng Lee Y’ng Noriah Kalanjiam Beh Chooi Heah Parimala Devi Chan Lean Heng Parimala Devi Rajaram Cheah Gaik Kim Por Ye Huey Cheng Seet Ian Rosalind Tan Cheng Seet Van Sabrina Soon Elain Wong Sim Bee Hwa Emma Franks Evanezel Khoo Jenny Tan Sock Cheng Maria Francisca Monina Felix Sally Alexander Stella Lau Wee Siew Eng Wendy Ang Yeoh Siew Eng Siva Priya Muniandy INTERNS Women’s Centre for Change, Penang Swarnalatha Subramaniam Cindy Lim Tan Lou Rong Crystal Teoh Goh Jie Ying Tang Kae Shih Vivien Lee Jazmeen Yunadia Mazlan ADVOCACY Kew Si Cheng Ahmad Munawir bin Abdul Aziz Wong Soo Lan Lee Miaw Ling Christine Khor Woo Boon Leng Mariya Siraj Rowena Nair Wee Yee Wen Ooi Say Tee Sharneeya Subramaniam 40 | Sukhveer Kaur Our sincere apologies to those whom we have inadvertently missed out. ANNUAL REVIEW 2012 | 41 • All Women’s Action Society (AWAM) • Penang Arts Education Programs for Young People (Arts-Ed) • Baptist Theology Seminary • Penang Counselling Group • Bar Committee, Penang • Penang Christian Centre • BOLD Association for Children with Special Needs • Penang Timur Laut District Office • Cathedral of the Holy Spirit • Penang Institute • Children’s Protection Society • Penang Labour Department • Creativity at Heart • Penang Medical College • Centre for Creative Arts Therapy • Penang State Women, Family and Community Development • D’Home Mental Health Association • Penang Sunshine Square Corporation • Exabytes Network Sdn. Bhd. • Pejabat Daerah dan Tanah, Seberang Perai Utara • Hospital Pulau Pinang • Perak Women for Women (PWW) • Hospital Seberang Jaya • Penang Women’s Development Corporation (PWDC) • Indian Muslim Community Organisation Malaysia (iMCOM) • Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (Empower) • Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Pulau Pinang • Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor (PSWS) • Institut Pendidikan Guru Tunku Bainun Bukit Mertajam • Pusat Jagaan Kanak-Kanak Padang Tembak , Pulau Pinang • International Catholic Migration Commission • Rumah Kebajikan Seri Cahaya • Intel, Malaysia • Sabah Women’s Action Resource Group (SAWO) • Jabatan Bantuan Guaman, Pulau Pinang • SEED Training and Counselling Centre • Jabatan Kesihatan Negeri Pulau Pinang • Sisters in Islam (SIS) • Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat Negeri Pulau Pinang • Soroptimist International Club of Ipoh • Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Pulau Pinang • Soroptimist International Club of Penang • JKKK Simpang Ampat Seberang Perai Selatan • Suara Rakyat (SUARAM), Penang Branch • JKKK Medan Angsana, Daerah Timur Laut • Surya Nursing College • KANITA, Women’s Development Research Centre, USM • Than Hsiang Mitra Welfare Association • Kapitan Keling Mosque Qaryah Committee • Think City • KDU College, Penang • UNICEF • Lam Wah Ee Nursing College • Unit Pendakwaan, Pejabat Penasihat Undang-Undang Pulau Pinang • Legal Aid Centre, Penang • Vivekkham Motivation Team • Legal Aid Centre, Butterworth • World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) • Lembaga Penduduk dan Pembangunan Keluarga Negara (LPPKN) • Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) • Lions Club of George Town • Women’s Welfare Council • Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang (MPPP) Partners & Supporting Agencies Partners & Supporting Agencies • Malaysian Child Resource Institute (MCRI) 42 | Women’s Centre for Change, Penang ANNUAL REVIEW 2012 | 43 Pusat Kesedaran Wanita 241 Jalan Burma, 10350 Penang, Malaysia | T +604 - 228 0342 | F +604 - 228 5784 | E [email protected] Pusat Perkhidmatan Wanita 67A, 1st Flr, Jalan Perai Jaya 4, Bandar Perai Jaya, 13600 Perai | T +604 - 398 8340 | E [email protected] www.wccpenang.org