Dr Anamah Tan, our distinguished keynote speaker,
Fellow working partners,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen.
Good Morning.
15 Years of Partnership in Family Protection
This year marks the 15th anniversary of the National Family Violence Networking System (NFVNS). “Our Journey Together: 15 Years of Partnership in Family Protection” is an appropriate theme. It reminds us of the journey that community agencies and the government have taken together in supporting families to give them hope and empowerment and to ensure that they are free from violence. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone present today for your unwavering commitment and dedication to this cause.
Key achievements of the NFNVS
We have seen several milestones in the history of the NFVNS. One of the very important early developments was the formation of the Inter Ministry Working Group on management of child abuse in 1997. It was formed to strengthen inter-agency partnership, and review the protocols to enhance case management and service delivery. In 2001 the Family Violence Dialogue Group or FVDG was established. It is jointly headed by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports and the Singapore Police Force. Six regional family violence working groups are also formed to coordinate inter-agency operational challenges. In addition to regional outreach, these working groups serve as a conduit to provide feedback to the FVDG on operational issues. Through close links between the FVDG and regional working groups, we are able to assist victims in a holistic and effective manner.
Strong coordination among agencies in our family violence network is also important. One example is how police officers are able to inform victims of family violence of the available support and with their consent link them up with the relevant social service agencies. For this to happen, police officers need to be fully aware of the support services that are available to victims. Another notable initiative is the manual on the integrated management of family violence, which provides a one-stop reference for professionals involved in family violence work.
On the rehabilitation end, the establishment of Mandatory Counselling Programme and Family Violence Specialist Centres are crucial to provide intervention for perpetrators, victims and their children. Since 1997, some 8,000 counselling orders have been issued under the Mandatory Counselling Programme. We now have three Family Violence Specialist Centres, namely
Centre for Promoting Alternatives to Violence,
TRANS SAFE Centre and
Care Corner Project StART.
Importance of Inter-agency collaboration
It is crucial for us to continue harnessing this strong network to ensure seamless delivery of services to affected families. Let me illustrate the value of this through the story of Susie who has 4 children. Subjected to a long history of spousal violence, she continued to suffer in silence developed a sense of learned helplessness.
Susie’s parenting ability was badly impaired by the abuse. As she also suffered from severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, her children were placed under alternative care by Child Protection Services to ensure their safety and well-being.
One day, she was admitted to the hospital and the attending doctor noticed multiple non-accidental injuries of varying ages. She was immediately referred to the Medical Social Worker who in turn alerted MCYS after discovering that her children are known to Child Protection. A case conference was quickly convened to discuss the strategic management and a police report was also made. Despite professionals’ efforts to empower and support her, she was not prepared to disclose what had happened to her.
Safety measures were developed. Her social worker and child protection officer mobilised grassroots’ assistance to visit her. The police increased their patrols near her residence and to immediately act when necessary. The investigation officer also continued to keep contact by attending to her calls and visiting her. The social worker continued to provide her with therapy and counseling. Her children were also provided with professional help to build resilience. After a few months, Susie finally relented and recounted her experience to the officer. Her husband was consequently taken to task.
Today, Susie is able to regain her independence. Her children are coping and performing well in school. Her husband has received psychological intervention in prisons and he continues to receive counselling support after his release. With coordinated approach among agencies her relationship with her children remains intact. The lessons we have learnt from this case are - agencies need to (1) be vigilant to signs of abuse; (2) be swift in our interventions; (3) communicate closely with the relevant agencies; and last but not the least, work in an integrated manner.
Building capability in professionals
As we celebrate our strong partnership, we also need to be mindful and brace ourselves to meet increasingly complex and multiple needs of families today in view of the changing social landscape in Singapore. Besides our continuous professional development, we must also gear ourselves up with specialised knowledge and evidenced based intervention.
On this note, I would like to highlight the good work of the working committee which examined the current training provisions in various sectors involved in family protection work. Comprising representatives from the law enforcement, social service and healthcare sector, this committee has developed a training competency framework for family violence intervention agencies. This ensures that all professionals such as social workers, healthcare officers, police officerswill have a training roadmap to effectively equip them with the relevant repertoire of knowledge and skills. In the following months, the relevant sectors will look into the possible implementation strategies for the training framework.
Review of Child Protection Service and System
In the area of child protection, I am pleased to highlight some initiatives that we are implementing arising from the Child Protection Review this year. The review was initiated to study both Child Protection Service’s internal work processes and the multi-agency collaboration in order to identify strengths and challenges in the protection of children. First, in enhancing the inter-agency collaboration within the Child Protection System, we will strengthen the current Inter-Ministry Workgroup on the Management of Child Abuse to provide a wider focus on child protection issues. The enhanced workgroup named as the Inter-Ministry Workgroup on Child Protection, comprises a wider representation from relevant stakeholders i and the expanded partnership promises more holistic service and programme intervention for our clients.
Another area is child-centric specialised services to support children of abuse, and their families. My ministry is developing a model of a Specialist Agency on Child Protection. Besides providing specialised assessment and treatment programme, the Specialist Agency will act as a step-up service for community agencies managing medium-risk cases, and a supplementary service for high risk clients managed by Child Protection Service .
While we strive to keep children in their familial homes, there are some who may need to be placed in alternative out-of-home care services. To help this group of children, my ministry is developing a National Out-of-Home Care Service Framework. This framework will articulate policies, guiding principles and best practices for professionals working with this clientele group. These include support services for relatives providing kinship care, foster care providers and Children’s Homes providers.
Public Education Efforts
It is vital to raise public’s awareness on the signs of violence and the help resources available. MCYS, together with our partners, actively conducts public education on spousal, child and elder abuse as well as dating violence. The regional Family Violence working groups will be conducting briefing sessions for grassroots and religious organisations and general practitioners on the issues of family violence next year. A new portal will be developed to allow easy access by the public to information on family violence and the available help channels. A commemorative publication to document the NFVNS journey will also be produced.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would like to once again thank everyone here for your dedication and commendable work to safeguard the well-being of vulnerable members of our society.