KUALA LUMPUR: The All Women's Action Society (Awam) is working with the Malaysian Association of Social Workers (MASW) to assist survivors of gender-based violence (GBV).
"Social workers can provide psychosocial support, which is important in helping these survivors cope with what they have experienced.
"Holistic and integrated gender-based violence services for survivors remain lacking.
"We are thus very glad to be able to partner with AWAM to fill this gap, which will lead to better GBV casework and management," said MASW president Professor Dr Azlinda Azman.
As per the agreement, MASW will provide volunteer social workers to accompany and guide clients to relevant service providers such as hospitals, shelters and police stations, while Awam will facilitate the process by providing the necessary legal information to the volunteer social workers to guide the clients thus arrange counselling sessions for clients if it is needed.
MASW vice president Amy Bala said the collaboration will also bridge gaps in accessibility to assistance in cases of abuse, especially in remote areas.
"Volunteer social workers will be able to provide immediate help to survivors," she said, adding that 12 social workers have signed up and are ready to provide support to Awam for GBV cases.
