Criminal Code lacks protection for women<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A legal expert said Saturday that the country's
\nCriminal Code does not adequately protect victims of domestic
\nviolence.<\/p>\n
\"In fact, there is an article in the law which considers a
\nwife the property of the husband,\" Nursyahbani Kacasungkana,
\ndirector of the Association of Indonesian Women for Justice, said
\nduring a discussion on women, violence and harassment.<\/p>\n
Article 285 of the Criminal Code contains a clause dealing
\nwith rape, which states that a man who forcibly has intercourse
\nwith a woman who is not his wife faces a maximum of 12 years in
\nprison if found guilty.<\/p>\n
The clause indicates that a woman's legal rights are gone
\nafter she gets married, she said.<\/p>\n
By including the term \"outside of marriage\", the law does not
\nrecognize marital rape, let alone domestic violence, said
\nNursyahbani, a former director of the Jakarta Legal Aid
\nInstitute.<\/p>\n
However, she said, there is hope of more legal protection for
\nwomen as the term \"outside of marriage\" is not included in the
\ndraft of the new national criminal code.<\/p>\n
The new bill was drafted in 1993, but has yet to be sent to
\nthe House of Representatives for deliberation.<\/p>\n
Nursyahbani said that the law emphasizes men over women
\nbecause of society's strong patriarchal values.<\/p>\n
\"Improving the law is important, but more important is
\nchanging the values and attitude of the public, including the law
\nenforcers,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Saturday's discussion, organized by the feminist group
\nKalyanamitra and the Foundation of Padi Dan Kapas, also featured
\nMyra Diarsi, a Kalyanamitra researcher, noted psychologist
\nSartono Mukadis and Nina Jusuf from the Women's Crisis Center in
\nSan Francisco.<\/p>\n
Quoting police sources, Myra said that in Indonesia one woman
\nis raped every five hours.<\/p>\n
\"This is based on the reported cases. We know that there are
\nmany more cases which are not reported,\" she said.<\/p>\n
According to Nina, four million women in the United States are
\nvictims of domestic violence every year.<\/p>\n
\"People sometimes forget that domestic violence kills. In San
\nFrancisco, domestic violence is the top killer,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She said that most victims of domestic violence are
\nfinancially dependent on their husbands and hesitant to go to the
\npolice for fear of getting divorced.<\/p>\n
California state law, however, allows police to press charges
\nagainst the batterers without the request of the victims, she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Intelligence<\/p>\n
A noted psychologist, Sartono said that based on his long
\nexperience in the field of human resources, he has found that
\nmost women who apply for jobs have a slightly higher IQ than the
\nmale applicants. The percentage of women who pass the
\npsychological tests is also higher than men.<\/p>\n
\"If my study is accurate, maybe the root cause of harassment
\nor violence against women in the workplace is because men are
\nworried that they might lose their roles as breadwinners,\"
\nSartono said with a touch of levity.<\/p>\n
Sartono criticized the approach of feminists in Indonesia and
\nsuggested that they discuss matters with religious leaders and
\ngive more attention to local culture.<\/p>\n
\"Why not say, for example, that mothers need better food
\nbecause we need better future human resources?\" he said,
\nprovoking a number of participants at the discussion.<\/p>\n
One woman responded angrily to the statement, saying that a
\nwoman deserves healthy food not because a healthy woman will
\nproduce better \"human resources\", but because it is her right as
\na human being. (sim)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/criminal-code-lacks-protection-for-women-1447893297",
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