About AWAM

AWAM, founded in 1985, advocates for changes in policies and laws to protect the rights of women. The organization serves survivors of violence with counseling and legal information. AWAM educates the general public about ending gender-based violence and women’s rights using social media, workshops, editorials, published research, and public events. AWAM supports women’s rights advocates who have become the targets of government intimidation and arrests by publicizing their stories and lobbying for their release. More recently, AWAM has been addressing the politicization of ethnicity and religion in popular culture, and how that politicization divides and disempowers women. AWAM conducts training workshops for diverse audiences, including healthcare providers, police officers, school children and teenagers, survivors, indigenous communities, the corporate sector, and government officials. Workshops cover leadership, political activism, human rights, and violence against women. AWAM launched the Telenita helpline in 1997, and has continued its work for 20 years with the help of dedicated volunteer counselors and students from the Legal Aid Centre.

Since AWAM joined the WLP partnership in 2006, it has grown its programming on leadership development and political participation. AWAM has translated and adapted WLP curricula, including Victories Over Violence and Leading to Action. AWAM conducts local and national Training of Trainer Institutes using the WLP methodology. AWAM works primarily in Malay.

Recent Accomplishments

• At the Southeast Asia Regional Convening in June 2022 on ending gender-based violence, AWAM developed a regional strategy on sexual violence, child marriage, LGBTQ+ violence and domestic and migrant workers’ rights with WLP Indonesia
• After two decades of advocacy campaigns, the government passed an Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill in July 2022
• After years of advocacy and lobbying by AWAM, as part of the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG), Malaysia’s lower house of parliament, the Dewan Rakyat, passed a critical amendment to the Domestic Violence Bill of 2017, allowing victims of domestic abuse to access emergency protection orders (EPO).
• AWAM and JAG are currently working with the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, to develop a law to address sexual harassment.
• In 2016, AWAM and JAG conducted workshops for law students at five private universities that addressed gender and sexuality issues, with the goal of influencing their future legal practice. The effort was in collaboration with the Gender Equality Initiative (GEI), which is a project of the Association of Women Lawyers (AWL).
• AWAM is developing a manual on patriarchy and its connections to gender based violence, focusing on the Malaysian context.

Organizational Programs and Activities

Women’s Leadership and Political Participation

• Since 2015, AWAM has organized an annual Feminist Camp for young women. During the three-day retreat, young women establish connections and have meaningful conversations with others equally curious and passionate about feminism, social justice, and the state of Malaysia and the world.
• AWAM conducts capacity-building and sensitization workshops on women’s rights for widely diverse constituencies in Malaysia. These have included gender sensitization trainings for police, workshops on violence against women, and programs with indigenous women to raise awareness about gender-based violence. Over the years, AWAM has conducted education programs and campaigns on women’s human rights, women’s political participation, and women’s leadership.

Ending Violence Against Women

• Through its nationwide campaign to end domestic violence, AWAM has brought together key service providers—hospitals, the police, and the Welfare Department—to engage them in discussions around their roles in addressing domestic violence. AWAM trains first responders on how to recognize domestic violence cases and what are the appropriate responses. AWAM also works to increase coordination between individuals, agencies, and NGOs working on domestic violence cases.
• As a result of intense lobbying by AWAM and other women’s groups, One Stop Crisis Centers (OSCCs) were established in 1996 in general hospitals nationwide. The OSCCs enable survivors of violence—including domestic violence and sexual assault—to access comprehensive treatment and services at one centralized location. The services OSCC provides include medical treatment, assistance on lodging a police report, legal support, and mental health counseling. Today, AWAM fights to close gaps in referral and implementation of OSCCs and continues to conduct talks and training for medical personnel.

Training Program on the Politicization of Ethnicity and Religion

• AWAM is promoting alternative understandings and narratives on ethnicity and religion in Malaysia. AWAM’s training program uses alternative narratives to embrace and celebrate diversity and adhere to human rights principles, rather than seeking to punish or persecute difference. This program addresses a growing discord in Malaysian society, which is negatively impacting women. AWAM is providing a response that is grounded in feminist ideals and builds solidarity.