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KUALA LUMPUR: A Domestic Violence Offender Registry that will keep tabs on repeat offenders is being mulled.
Women, Family, and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said the proposal was discussed at the Domestic Violence Case Coordination Meeting held on April 29.
The meeting was attended by representatives from various ministries and the relevant agencies.
“In this regard, follow-up action is being undertaken jointly by the ministry, the police and the judiciary to further examine this proposal and develop an appropriate mechanism for recording and monitoring repeat domestic violence offenders through criminal records or relevant offence registries,” she said in a parliamentary written reply dated July 6.
She said the initiative would strengthen prevention, enforcement and victim protection efforts.
“At the same time, due consideration must be given to the legal, ethical and human rights implications of such a registry,” she said.
Nancy said the Domestic Violence Committee will continue to serve as the platform for coordination, monitoring and discussion among ministries, departments and agencies to ensure the effective implementation of policies, programmes and initiatives related to domestic violence.
“The ministry will continue to review and strengthen the relevant standard operating procedures (SOPs) and service delivery arrangements from time to time to ensure that complaint channels and the protection system for domestic violence victims remain responsive, effective and aligned with current needs and emerging challenges,” she said.
She was responding to a question by Rodziah Ismail (Pakatan Harapan-Ampang) on the status of the registry.
In a response to another question on male victims of domestic abuse, Nancy said 7,391 cases of domestic violence were recorded in 2025 of which 104 perpetrators were wives.
She said the ministry through its various agencies have undertaken various initiatives to raise awareness of domestic violence and to protect victims through a range of services and intervention measures.
“These include intervention through the Emergency Protection Order (EPO), which may be applied for without the need to lodge a police report and can be processed by Social Welfare Department within as little as two hours.
The EPO remains valid for seven days to provide immediate protection for victims. During this period, victims may obtain medical treatment, temporary shelter, psychosocial support, and pursue further legal action by applying to the court for an Interim Protection Order (IPO) or a Protection Order (PO),” she said.
She was responding to a question by Kalam Salan (Perikatan Nasional-Sabak Bernam) on the measures taken to protect husbands who are victims of physical, emotional and financial abuse as police statistics for January–June 2025, showed 27% (1,017) of victims of the 3,768 domestic violence cases recorded during that period were men. - THE STAR
