MSF Opens 24-Hour Hotline For Victims and Public to Report Family Abuse, Violence, and Neglect

By
Boon Hun
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If you are a victim of abuse, it can be tough to bring yourself to ask for help from strangers or members of the public.

And for those who push themselves into doing so, you might find yourself turned off when you’re shuffled from hotline to hotline, feeling like an unwanted burden.

This is probably why it’s a good thing that the Ministry of Social and Family (MSF) is doing something about it.

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MSF Opens 24-Hour Hotline For Victims and Public to Report Family Abuse, Violence, and Neglect

On 23 Feb 2021, it was reported that MSF has launched a new hotline, the National Anti-Violence Helpline, to handle family violence as well as other forms of abuse or neglect.

The hotline, which is manned around the clock, replaces the support given by ten different helplines by MSF and its community partners.

Five of them are for reporting child abuse, and another five for family violence.

The number for the new helpline is 1800-777-0000.

The existing helplines that have been replaced will continue operating to serve current cases.

A Spike In Family Domestic Violence Cases

According to Ms Sun Xueling, the co-chair of the family violence task force set up in Feb 2020, there was a 40% spike in the number of calls between Jan and Oct 2020, compared to the year before.

Referrals and inquiries on domestic violence have also increased since the start of the Circuit Breaker.

While the number of cases investigated by MSF is “roughly stable” (no increase despite the increase in calls and inquiries), there’s still a whopping 120 cases per month.

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How The Calls Are Handled

So far, MSF revealed, the new helpline has been used by about 450 users.

The helpline is manned by staff from Montfort Care and DHL Logistics, who are trained by MSF’s Child Protective Service and Adult Protective Service to handle interaction with victims of family violence.

The severity and frequency of each case are assessed before the team manning the helplines decide on how best to help them, whether it be “basic psycho-social support” or referring them to other agencies.

If the situation is deemed to be critical, authorities may be involved as well to intervene.

MSF isn’t going to stop at just the new helpline and said it’ll focus on developing other forms of communication, including internet live chat and WhatsApp chat.

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For Everyone 

The new helpline isn’t just for victims, either.

If you suspect cases of abuse or just need to ask some questions, you can also contact the helpline.

The helpline, while mainly operating in English, has Mandarin-, Malay- and Tamil-speaking operators as well.

Feature Image: Shutterstock.com / S_L

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Boon Hun
Email: [email protected]
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