I want to divorce my husband, be a single mum: More come out against non-physical abuse

After the definition of family violence was updated in 2025 to include abuses beyond physical harm, social workers and lawyers are seeing more victims seeking help.

- Christine Tan

It started with degrading insults and being mocked for coming from a broken family. Soon, Madam Anna (not her real name) got assaulted by her then boyfriend.

The abuse continued after marriage and she had two children.

Madam Anna, who is in her 30s, told The Sunday Times in July: "(My husband) said I didn't have a life of my own. He said by giving me children, he gave me a good life... He said these things until I hated myself."

After two years of marriage, she applied for a personal protection order (PPO) in 2025. The homemaker is one of 549 people who filed for PPOs from January to March 2025, according to statistics from the Singapore Courts.

These applications were made after the new definition of family violence, which includes sexual, emotional and psychological abuse, kicked in from January.

It was previously defined mainly as physical violence, such as causing hurt or placing a family member in fear of hurt.

These changes to the Women's Charter, first raised in Parliament in 2023, were meant to boost protection for family violence victims.

After Madam Anna was granted a PPO, her husband has kept his distance, but they still live together.

She has found a job and plans to file for divorce. "Now, I just want to confidently live my life as a single mother," she said.

PPOs are given by the court to victims to restrain their abusers from harming them further.

Those who breach the orders can be fined up to $10,000 or be jailed for up to 12 months, or both.

Data from the Family Justice Courts (FJC) shows there were 2,099 and 2,255 PPO applications in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Annually, about 75 per cent are filed by women.

A Singapore Courts spokeswoman said 62 per cent to 64 per cent of PPO applications in those years were filed against spouses.