SINGAPORE — Changes to the Protection from Harassment Act (Poha), which criminalises harassment, stalking and other anti-social behaviour, will be tabled in Parliament “in the next few months”, said Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam on Thursday (Feb 21).

The changes in the law will make it easier for victims of intimate partner violence — both married and unmarried — to seek protection by law, said Mr Shanmugam, who was speaking at the 20th anniversary of family violence specialist centre Pave.

“No one should undergo such violence... and certainly not... at the hands of a person they trust,” the minister added.

The proposed changes will be over and on top of the ongoing review to the Penal Code which would — among other things — enhance maximum penalties for those who commit violence against a victim in an intimate or close relationship with them.

WHAT THE PROPOSED CHANGES ENTAIL:

• A new court: The Protection from Harassment Court will hear both civil and criminal matters. Part of the State Courts, it will comprise a group of judges that will hear all Poha cases.

• Quicker protection order applications: An Expedited Protection Order application under Poha could be granted within 48 to 72 hours. If there is actual violence (or risk of violence), an Expedited Protection Order could be granted within 24 hours.

• The Expedited Protection Order would stay in place while the hearing for the Protection Order is ongoing. The court will try to hear the case within a month from when the application is filed. Currently, Expedited Protection Orders will last for 28 days, or until the first day of the Protection Order hearings.

• Expanded coverage: Protection Orders and Expedited Protection Orders will be extended to cover persons related to the victim, such as their parents and children.

• Breaching the Protection Order: Currently, a breach is non-arrestable unless a warrant is issued or the breach occurs in front of a police officer. With the changes, individuals who breach the Protection Order can be arrested even if no warrant is issued. Subsequent breaches will lead to doubled penalties.

I think from society’s perspective, every case (of intimate partner violence) is one case too many, and we have to stop this — at least we have to do everything we can to put in place a framework that will stop this,” — Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam

WHY IT MATTERS

Unmarried victims of intimate partner violence still face issues in getting protection. They cannot apply for a Personal Protection Order under the Women’s Charter, as they are unmarried.

Currently, applying for a Protection Order under Poha would take some time. Pave had raised the issue of violence by intimate partners with Mr Shanmugam during his visit in August last year.

PAVE SAYS

“I think that in many cases, most of the time, people in (such) relationships, whether they are teenagers or young people, or even people in their 30s and 40s who are trapped in violent relationships, don't know that there is help available. They don't know where to turn to. By getting these changes in place, more people will be aware of this, that if you are... in a dating relationship and violence is part of what's going on, you know that this is not okay, and you know that there's help available.” — Pave vice-president Alan John

VIOLENCE IN RELATIONSHIPS

• A 2012 study of 344 respondents in Singapore that Pave commissioned revealed that one-third of unmarried persons between the ages of 15 and 34 had been in an abusive romantic relationship.

• Of these, two-thirds had been in an abusive relationship in their teens.

• Among intimate partner or spousal relationships, Pave says a large majority (about 90 per cent) of victims are female.