THE ANALYSIS OF THE PERCEPTION AND AWARENESS OF USM STUDENTS TOWARDS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST FEMALES

Abstract

Due to lockdowns and stay-at-home measures in combating COVID-19 worlwide, the number of domestic violence cases have increased tremendously since 2020. In order to eliminate domestic violence against females, it is imperative to better understand the background of domestic violence against females, as well as the societal institutions that promote its persistence. This study aimed at determining and analysing the perception and awareness level of USM students on domestic violence against females. The result showed that USM students have a strong awareness of different types of abuses. Among those six categories, 72.4% of the respondents strongly agreed with physical abuse as a form of domestic violence and had the largest mean 4.667 while 38.1% of respondents strongly agreed with stalking as a form of domestic violence with the lowest mean 3.905. However, the result also revealed that the majority of the students are unaware that the illness-based violence is one of the causes of domestic violence as opposed to the other five causes. We also found that there exists a significant difference of percentages of responses between strengthening laws and legislations against domestic violence as a potential solution (73.34%) with the mean of 4.686. This shows a rather alarming signal that USM students are generally too dependent on law and have the mindset that law can overcome domestic violence issues. Recommendations to improve the students’ awareness on this matter are presented accordingly.