DISCRIMINATION which denied women child care assistance, the right to inherit and adequate defence from abusive husbands were some of the problems confronting women in the territory, a forum was told yesterday.
To combat the situation there was a call for the establishment of a multi-purpose commission to channel women's complaints so action could be taken.
Organised by the Coalition of Women's Organisation, some women wept as they told the forum their stories of single parenthood, wife abuse, politics and discrimination in the workplace.
Jessie Chu set up the Concern Group on Single Parents following her desperate situation which forced her to leave her children, aged seven and 11, alone in her apartment while she went out to work.
Having been denied child care help when her husband died, she found she needed to work to supplement her state benefit which was not sufficient to support her family. At the time, three years ago, Mrs Chu had to pay $1,800 a month for after-school care when her total income was only $1,200.
She said the discrimination was highlighted when her neighbour found himself as a single parent.
