00:00Psychiatrist and former independent senator Dr. Varma Diyalsing says the warning signs of domestic violence escalating to murder must be
00:10taken far more seriously, particularly in a society where some forms of male dominance and control are deeply entrenched.
00:19Now, the perpetrator has grown up in a society where there's a patriarchal society, the male dominance. They figure, you
00:27know, you may have to be divorced. And, you know, and you treat women as a piece of property. So
00:33if I am divorced, you come into my home, or I am now taking care of you, I'm buying things
00:39for you. Your life doesn't exist again. You belong to me totally.
00:42So that idea of treating women as a piece of their property, it means I can do anything I want
00:48with this. If you get an outer hand, I will be censor you. If you, I figure you're going to
00:52leave me, I could destroy you.
00:54He says psychological control can become just as dangerous as physical violence, with some victims convinced they cannot escape their
01:03abusers or interpreting possessiveness, aggression and control as expressions of love.
01:10We could create a place for them where the men could now be there, but away from the woman, giving
01:16the woman time to catch herself, to move on, to even learn defense mechanism.
01:24You know, you teach that woman that. And even some women with the psychological chains that bind them. They are
01:30like in a cult. We teach them now how to break from that man, you know.
01:35Dr. Diel Singh says intervention cannot wait until violence reaches a critical point. He believes police, the courts, counsellors and
01:45social services must work together to separate victims from dangerous situations because an abusive relationship can escalate with devastating consequences
01:56after what may appear to be one more argument.
02:00Those individuals, how am I to know that something is going on with this man, that this man could be
02:07a potentially, a potential murderer?
02:13We need assessment. And now this is where the difficulty comes in. Now, if I push my wife, I curse
02:19my wife.
02:20I am thinking, even though it's a minor thing that people may say, it's not dangerous, how are we to
02:24know it's not going to escalate?
02:26Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
02:31Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
02:31Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
02:31Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
02:32Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
02:32Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
