STEPS may be taken to amend the Women's Charter, to give the Family Court more bite and to better protect women and children.

But, even so, addressing problematic divorces through the law is seldom a straightforward matter, as my paper found out.

Despite the broad aims of the Women's Charter, there are some women mired in complicated situations who worry that the proposed changes would not help them.

Aisah (the names of the women in this story have been changed to prevent the identification of their children) is one such woman.

The Family Court issued a warrant of arrest for the 28- year-old's former husband, who owes her more than $10,000 in alimony, but she has since dropped the case against him. She is facing difficulties repaying a bank loan.

Aisah, a waitress, hesitates to seek legal advice as she does not want to spend scarce money on a lawyer.

Compounding her problems are the fates of her two sons, aged nine and 11.

"Their studies are suffering because I don't have time to supervise them... I don't know if there is a student care centre that can help keep an eye on them while I'm at work," said Aisah, who works 12-hour days, six days a week.

Help may be at hand. The Singapore Council of Women's Organisations, one of the key stakeholders that recommended the proposed amendments to the Women's Charter, aims to launch a service called Maintenance Support Central in the first quarter of next year.

Through the service, the organisation hopes to provide assistance to claimants at different stages of the enforcement process, from offering legal advice and representation, to locating housing, childcare support and employment opportunities.

It will be open to all women, including Muslims, who have maintenance orders issued by the Singapore courts, and those who are unable to qualify for legal aid.

The enforcement of maintenance orders is a major bugbear for an increasing number of divorcees who find it difficult to secure monthly child-support money from their former spouses.

A total of 3,585 people filed court applications last year to get former husbands to pay up, a 10 per cent increase from 2008. The ongoing review of the Women's Charter is supposed to address this emerging trend.

But my paper discovered some women - like Ms Malagar, a Filipina - who do not even know the whereabouts of their husbands. Ms Malagar is here on an S pass. She filed for divorce here last year and her former husband is 10 months behind on his monthly payment of $5,000.

They have an eight-year-old daughter who is studying here.

Mr Koh Tien Hua, a family lawyer with Harry Elias Partnership, strongly advised women like Aisah and Ms Malagar to seek legal help so that they may learn about the avenues open to them.

He said: "No matter how much you amend the Women's Charter, there will unfortunately be some situations which fall between the cracks, not through the fault of the law, but because the (defaulter) decided to run.

"It's a very hard lesson, but...if you're married to a man who decides to abandon you and your family, you've no choice but to stand up on your own."