Foodcourt staff in S’pore trained to spot diners who may be abused by a loved one
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In July, 77 foodcourt managers from Koufu were trained by the Ministry of Social and Family Development to detect and report family violence.
PHOTO: KOUFU GROUP
- Koufu food court managers are trained by MSF to spot signs of domestic abuse among diners, acting as "eyes and ears" in the community.
- Reported domestic violence cases have risen, as MSF launches its annual public awareness campaign on domestic violence.
- MSF urges public to save the National Anti-Violence & Sexual Harassment Helpline number on their phones, and Koufu prints it on its mugs to promote awareness and reporting.
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SINGAPORE - Foodcourt staff may be doing more than just selling or serving food – some have now been trained to spot signs of abuse.
In July, 77 foodcourt managers from Koufu, one of Singapore’s largest foodcourt operators, were trained by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) to detect and report family violence.
They are the latest group in the community to receive such training, amid a rise in domestic violence cases in the past few years.
Since 2020, more than 11,000 people in various sectors, such as pre-school teachers, healthcare workers as well as retail staff and pharmacists from Unity Pharmacy, have been trained in the fight against family violence.
At the launch of the ministry’s domestic violence public awareness campaign held at Ngee Ann Polytechnic on Aug 26, Minister of State for Home Affairs and Social and Family Development Goh Pei Ming said Koufu staff act as “eyes and ears” on the ground to spot and report abuse.
He urged more companies, schools, community partners and members of the public to help detect and prevent abuse, as the MSF saw a rise in reported abuse cases with low to moderate risks between 2021 and 2023.
He said: “Domestic violence is a complex issue and requires a whole-of-society effort to address.”
In September 2024, the MSF released the inaugural Domestic Violence Trends report, which showed that new spousal violence cases rose by 15 per cent from 1,741 in 2022 to 2,008 in 2023.
The number of new Tier 1 child abuse cases, defined as those with low to moderate safety and risk concerns, rose 17 per cent from 2,377 in 2021 to 2,787 in 2023. There were 2,760 such cases in 2022.
Mr Goh said the rise in cases is due to greater awareness and greater willingness by victims and the public to seek help and report the abuse.
Also, cases are detected earlier, which stops the abuse from worsening, he added.
The MSF’s public education campaign titled Let’s Break The Silence Together in 2025 focuses on getting the public to save the National Anti-Violence and Sexual Harassment Helpline (NAVH) number on their mobile phones.
The NAVH is a 24-hour helpline for the public to report domestic abuse.
In a statement, the MSF said this move “symbolises a shared commitment where domestic violence is not condoned and everyone knows where to seek help”.
Mr Alex Go, Koufu’s senior operations manager, said he learnt about different types of abuse and how to approach diners who may need help during the one-hour training session.
He said that many of its customers are regulars, and foodcourt staff know some of them personally.
Koufu’s senior operations manager Alex Go holding Koufu cups with the National Anti-violence & Sexual Harassment Helpline number.
ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
If they see signs of potential abuse, such as bruises or if the customer is behaving unusually, they could approach the diner in the hope of linking them up to help.
Koufu is also printing the NAVH number on all the mugs used in its 67 Koufu and Happy Hawkers outlets islandwide.
While Mr Go said that its staff have not put their training to use yet, Koufu hopes to promote a greater awareness to stop the scourge of domestic violence.
Ms Danyya Ateera, a survivor of abuse, at the launch of the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s Let’s Break The Silence Together campaign on Aug 26.
ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Ms Danyya Ateera, 33, who was abused by her mother and stepfather at the age of nine, also shared her story during the launch of the MSF’s campaign.
Ms Danyya, now a safety professional and a mother of two young children, wrote a book called Even In Silence in 2015 about the abuse – which went on for about five years – and her road to recovery.
She realised what was happening to her was wrong only during a sexuality education class, and told her teacher about the abuse.
The MSF Child Protective Service was alerted, and Ms Danyya went to stay with her aunt and uncle to ensure her safety and well-being.
She said of those dark days: “I blamed myself a lot (for the abuse) and I felt my life was not worth it.”
Besides undergoing four years of therapy, what helped her heal from the trauma of abuse was the love and support she received from her uncle and aunt, her psychologist and child protection officers.
Ms Danyya said: “I feel the most important part of seeking help is to know there’s a net for you to fall back on, and you would be okay. Sometimes, it’s so hard to see this when you are in the circle of violence.”
If you want to report domestic violence, please call the NAVH on 1800-777-0000.
