Personal Protection Orders by foreign spouses
Parliamentary question, 6 Jan 2020
Ms Anthea Ong asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) of all requests for Personal Protection Orders in each year for the past three years, how many and what percentage have been made by foreign spouses against their husbands; and (b) how many and what percentage of such requests by foreign spouses have been approved.
Mr Desmond Lee: Persons who seek legal protection from family violence may apply at the Family Justice Courts (FJC), for a Personal Protection Order (PPO) under the Women’s Charter.
Based on the most recent complete dataset, FJC received 2,811 PPO applications in 2016, of which 203 applications (7%) were filed by foreign wives against their husbands. One hundred and one orders (50%) were issued, while the remaining applications filed by foreign wives in 2016 were mainly withdrawn, dismissed or struck out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Anthea Ong is a Nominated Member of Parliament. (A Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) is a Member of the Parliament of Singapore who is appointed by the President. They are not affiliated to any political party and do not represent any constituency. There are currently nine NMPs in Parliament.)
The multi-sector perspective that comes from her ground immersion of 12 years in different capacities helps her translate single-sector issues and ideas across boundaries without alienating any particular community/group. As an entrepreneur and with many years in business leadership, it is innate in her to discuss social issues with the intent of finding solutions, or at least of exploring possibilities. She champions mental health, diversity and inclusion — and climate change in Parliament.
She is also an impact entrepreneur/investor and a passionate mental health advocate, especially in workplace wellbeing. She started WorkWell Leaders Workgroup in May 2018 to bring together top leaders (CXOs, Heads of HR/CSR/D&I) of top employers in Singapore (both public and private) to share, discuss and co-create inclusive practices to promote workplace wellbeing. Anthea is also the founder of Hush TeaBar, Singapore’s 1st silent teabar and a social movement that aims to bring silence, self care and social inclusion into every workplace, every community — with a cup of tea. The Hush Experience is completely led by lovingly-trained Deaf facilitators, supported by a team of Persons with Mental Health Issues (PMHIs).
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