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Kota Kinabalu: Anyone who dares to suggest that his wife is no longer attractive will be courting legal trouble soon.

Plans are afoot to amend the Domestic Violence Act (DVA) 1994 to include a clause on emotional violence against women. Presently, the Act only provides for legal procedures that protect women against physical abuse.

Women Development Department Director-General, Dato' Dr Noorul Ainur Mohd Nur, said it is timely to amend the DVA to safeguard women both physically and emotionally.

"One of the department's focus is to amend the DVA by including a clause that will defend and protect women when they are emotionally abused by men, particularly husbands.

"The department, which is under the Ministry of Women Development, Family and Community, is in the process of bringing the proposed amendment to Parliament to be approved," she said.

Dr. Noorul described emotional violence as abuse that would scar women's emotions deeply and lower their self-esteem, dignity and self-confidence.

An example would be when a husband tells his wife she is ugly or humiliates her until she feels emotionally pressured, she said.

On the proposed penalty for emotional violence, she said it is yet to be finalised. She said this in a press conference at the closing of a seminar on how to curb violence against women at Wisma Wanita here, on Tuesday.

Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister, Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun closed the seminar organised by the Sabah Women Affairs Department.

About 300 participants including civil servants, students and non-governmental organisations (NGO) attended the one-day seminar.

The main objective of the seminar was to expose participants particularly young women to steps that can be taken should they fall victim to violence.

Also present were Permanent Secretary to Azizah's Ministry, Datin Asnimar Sukardi and Sabah Women Affairs Department director, Siti Sapoo Hj. Ahok.

In her speech earlier Dr Noorul said the annual rise in the number of sex crimes involving women and children in the country was actually indicative of the growing level of public awareness to report such cases.

"Don't let the statistics fool you with all the high numbers of rape, outraging of modesty and sodomy cases in our country.

"It shows the awareness of the public to come forward to report such heinous crimes to the police.

"Even in incest cases, the mothers of the victims courageously come forward to lodge police reports," she said.

Dr Noorul said rape was still the most common sex crime committed against women and children in the country followed by molest and sodomy.

In 2005, she said the department recorded 1,931 rapes followed by molest (973) and sodomy (71) and that these cases continued to rise in 2006 with rape accounting for 2,041 cases, 1,066 molest and 71 sodomy cases.

In 2007, she said there were 3,098 rape cases followed by 2,228 molest and 101 sodomy cases. And in 2008, the number of rapes rose to 3,098 cases followed by 2,228 molest and 130 sodomy cases.

Dr. Noorul said the police statistics for 2008 also revealed a 10 per cent increase in rape cases compared to 2007.

She said the growing awareness to report such cases was a new phenomenon compared to 10 to 20 years ago when many families would have been more concerned about the family's reputation and therefore embarrassed to report the crimes .