KUALA LUMPUR: Domestic violence is on the rise, with a 15% increase reported since 2006, according to the police.

Criminal Investigations Department (CID) director Comm Datuk Mohd Bakri Zinin said the figures were just "the tip of the iceberg."

"Many more cases are not being reported to the police because it is so deeply embedded in our culture, making the problem almost invisible," he told a forum on domestic violence at the Bar Council office, here, yesterday.

He was speaking in his address themed "The Role of Police Involving Domestic Violence and Custody Disputes from the Syariah and Civil Perspective" which was organised by the Association Against Parental Alienation KL and Selangor.

Bakri said police had also recorded a 1% increase in domestic violence cases between January and November and they rose from 3,407 to 3,445.

"In most cases that we have received, the perpetrators were mostly known to the victims," he said.

He said police could not act on some of the cases as the victims withdrew their reports and wanted the police not to pursue the cases.

"This is one of the constraints faced by the police. Others include delays in reporting cases, lack of co-operation, and victims' reluctance to seek assistance," he said, adding that there were 194 cases of retraction this year alone.

"If the victims ask to withdraw, we have to oblige. If we (decide) to charge the perpetrators, we will have to take it to court," he said.

Asst Comm Suguram Bibi Munshi Deen, senior assistant director of the police's Sexual, Women and Child Abuse division had strongly urged women to lodge reports, seek medical attention from government hospitals and contact the division's officers for help.

"This special division is led by women police officers to manage and investigate reports relating to crime against women and children," she added.