More rape victims willing to speak out<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The huge increase in the number of cases reported of rape and
\ndomestic violence against women and children is an indication of
\nthe growing level of willingness among the victims to speak to
\nwomen's organizations about it.<\/p>\n
Chairwoman of the Foundation for the Elimination of Violence
\nAgainst Women, Purnianti, perceives the increasing number of
\nreported cases as a sign of the growing level of trust among
\nvictims toward women's centers and non-governmental
\norganizations.<\/p>\n
\"The situation now is like an iceberg where there are more and
\nmore women who are starting to take actions to protect
\nthemselves, instead of keeping the abuse a secret,\" said
\nPurnianti during a dialog held by the Mitra Perempuan crisis
\ncenter and the Ford Foundation on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
She added that this was definite progress remembering that
\nsuch centers were new to people, especially in relation to
\nprivate issues such as rape by a spouse and domestic violence.<\/p>\n
\"The extensive familiarization drives and the emergence of
\nconcerned non-governmental organizations have indeed played a
\nmajor role here,\" said Purnianti.<\/p>\n
She cited an example of the presence of a special crisis room
\n(RPK) at police stations where female officers take reports and
\nthe integrated crisis center (PKT) for women and children.<\/p>\n
This, she said, had been helpful in encouraging the victims to
\nask for help and counseling, both in terms of medical and legal
\nassistance.<\/p>\n
Mitra Perempuan executive director, Rita Serena Kolibonso,
\nsaid that her organization had received 272 reports of abuse of
\nwomen and children this year from Jakarta and its surrounding
\nareas, a 20.35 percent increase from 226 cases in 2002.<\/p>\n
\"Most of the cases included multiple violence, meaning that
\nthe victims have endured two or more kinds of violence, which
\nincludes beating with or without weapons, and rape within
\nmarriage,\" said Rita.<\/p>\n
She was quick to add that the figure was just a diminutive
\npercentage of the overall picture considering that there were
\ndozens of similar organizations collecting data, not to mention
\nthe data from the police and unreported cases.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Police recently released their annual report on crimes
\nfor 2003, in which the number of rape cases showed a 25 percent
\nincrease to 134 cases from 107 last year.<\/p>\n
Head of the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital crisis center
\nfor women and children, Budi Sampurno, said that over 1,700 cases
\nof rape and sexual abuse had been reported from June 2000 to June
\n2003, mostly toward women.<\/p>\n
The dialog also urged the government to swiftly take further
\naction on the draft of the bill on domestic violence and the
\nrevision of the law on rape.<\/p>\n
\"We urgently need those laws to be implemented on a national
\nscale to provide better protection to all victims of sexual
\noffenses or domestic abuse, whoever they may be,\" said Rita.<\/p>\n
She added that the country's commitment to international
\ndeclarations and the national agenda on stamping out violence
\nagainst women had not been consistently fulfilled.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/more-rape-victims-willing-to-speak-out-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}