SINGAPORE : For years, white-collar worker John (not his real name) had been enduring his wife's frequent violent outbursts.
Sometimes, she would throw ashtrays and books at him when she got angry. On other days, he would get scratched or punched.
But when the heavily pregnant woman threatened him with a chopper after a quarrel, John decided that enough was enough. He left home and sought a Personal Protection Order from the Family and Juvenile Justice Centre.
"What struck me most was that he really wanted the marriage to work," recalled court social worker Goh Soo Cheng. "He still loves her and merely wanted to remove the violent part from the marriage."
Distressed men like John made up a near-three-fold increase in the number of males applying for protection orders last year as compared to 1997, according to a study released by the Subordinate Court on Wednesday.
Last year, the number of men seeking protection was about 450, compared to about 161 in 1997, the study showed.
The study Faces of family violence: A profile study of family violence was based on a sample of 1,918 cases, picked randomly from the number of cases received in 2003 and last year.
Last year, the centre's Family Transformation and Protection Unit received 2,522 protection order applications. In 2003, it was 2,783.
Calling the increase in the number of men seeking protection orders "significant", the centre's director, Ms Annie Lee, said a lot of men could have suffered verbal abuse, threats or "actions that border on violence".
And some men have been at the receiving end of physical pain too.
"They scratch, they scream, they shout, they threaten," said Ms Lee, of abusive women.
One reason for the increase in male applicants could be heightened awareness.
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"Men are more aware of their protection rights - they are more aware that they can complain," said Ms Lee.
Also, there might be more men who realise that it is not embarrassing to ask the court to protect them, she added.
Ms Braema Mathi, president of women's rights group Aware, suggested that more studies be done to find out if there are "deeper frustrations" within women.
"To be in touch with your pain is very much a human condition and for a long time, men have buried this side of them," she said.
"There is still a question of (the sexes) wrestling for power. We need to study why women are doing it, whether there are deeper frustrations.
"We need to track cases annually. The current gap of 1997 and 2004 is too big to really understand this phenomenon well," she said. - TODAY
