A thought for the May rape victims

A thought for the May rape victims

By Lynda Kurnia Wardhani

JAKARTA (JP): The damnable, shameful and barbaric actions of a
group of people on May 13 and May 14 in Indonesia's capital and
other cities resulted not only in material losses due to looting
and arson but, more seriously, they also caused terrible pain and
trauma for some very unfortunate women.

During the massive riots, rampant rapes and sexual assaults
targeting mainly helpless women and children of ethnic Chinese
origin and other communities took place. These sadistic rapes,
reportedly conducted openly, often in front of members of the
victims' own families, can be regarded as criminal acts against
humanity.

The security vacuum during the riots pointed to the state as
to blame and the negligence of civilian and military leaders in
providing effective protection, which in turn allowed these
sexual assaults to become widespread. These barbaric acts should
be condemned and the authorities should conduct a thorough
investigation into anyone suspected of involvement in this
dreadful incident.

Some members of the community, particularly non-governmental
organizations, responded in the aftermath of the tragedy by
gathering facts, while others provided material and spiritual
assistance. Reports claim that about 168 women, mostly Chinese-
Indonesians, were raped, and 1,200 people died during the unrest.

While rape victims are struggling to deal with the nightmare,
some women have decided to protect themselves against sexual
assault by wearing chastity belts, known locally as antirape
corsets, and purchasing self-defense devices such as tear gas
sprays.

The phenomenon showed how intensive the violence against women
was, both in small groups of the community and in public places.

As a personally traumatic act, rape is a political crime that
occurs in a sociocultural context. It is sometimes used as a
weapon to maintain men's domination over women.

Women are often thought of as easy targets by criminals. The
number of crimes involving women as the main targets, such as
rape, murder and looting, is notably increasing. In an unsafe
societal condition, women are the most vulnerable to all kinds of
crime because they are both personally and legally weak.

As a group, women are often oppressed. In her book, Justice
and the Politics of Difference, Iris Marion Young divides forms
of oppression into five categories -- exploitation,
marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism and
violence.

Women undergo specific forms of gender exploitation, in which
their energy and power are expended, often unnoticed and
unacknowledged, usually to the benefit of men by releasing them
for more important and creative work, enhancing their status or
the environment around them, and providing them with sexual or
emotional services.

Women are sometimes marginalized in society. They are expelled
from useful participation in social life and thus potentially
subject to severe material deprivation and even extermination.

Powerlessness also designates the weak position of women. They
lack authority or power and they are positioned such that they
must take orders and rarely have the right to give them.

Women seem to live under cultural imperialism. The difference
between women and men makes men the dominant group.

As a group, women also suffer from systematic violence. They
live in fear of the knowledge that they must face random,
unprovoked attacks on their person or property, attacks which
have no motive but to damage, humiliate or destroy them. Any
woman has reason to fear rape. Sometimes, the motive may be a
"simple" will to show power and to victimize women as a result of
their vulnerability.

The five faces of oppression clearly describe the rape of
those unfortunate women in May. Those women were sexually
exploited, powerless to counter the sudden attacks, subjected to
violence, seen as a marginalized group of women, mostly of
Chinese descent, and pressed under cultural imperialism.

Sexual assault often starts with sexual abuse. Sexual abuse
occurs whenever anyone with less maturity or power is tricked,
trapped, coerced or bribed into a sexual experience. It occurs
whenever anyone disempowered by a handicap, age or situation is
involved in an activity which is sexually stimulating to the
perpetrator and which the victim does not fully comprehend, or to
which she is unable to give informed consent. The imbalance of
power between the victim and the perpetrator is critical in the
determination of abuse.

Based on religious beliefs, sexual assault is considered a
major sin. But it can also be considered a sin from other points
of view. Fortune (1983) observed that sexual assault is a
multidimensional sin. It is a bodily sin which violates the
bodily integrity of the victim and results in lifelong body-
related issues for the victim. It is a relational sin which
violates trust and destroys the possibility of a healthy
relationship between the victim and others. It likewise makes it
difficult for the victim to trust others and thus impedes all
other current and future relationship. It is a social sin because
it thrives in secretive situations which sustain abusive
relationships and creates a destructive environment.

Even those not directly involved are affected by the abuse,
such as family, religious circles and community members. And it
is also a sexual sin because it distorts and misuses sexuality.
Assault damages the victim's feelings about sexuality and leaves
her with after effects which will change her ability to accept
and express her sexuality long after the assault has ended.

Experiencing sexual violence has transformed the ill-fated
victims and changed their lives forever. Once victimized, one can
never again feel quite as invulnerable. As a member of society,
the victim will experience a wide range of reactions: compassion
and hostility, advocacy and abandonment, service and skepticism.
Rape is a trauma, just like a major disaster such as tornado or a
bad car accident. The shock usually causes some physical problems
to develop afterwards. Although their enjoyment of life is less,
they can live with their symptoms and cope.

This grievous condition has smitten the victims of the May
riots. Agents of change are therefore well advised to initiate
reform with regard to the adaptive qualities of communities and
for the proactive and successive nature of lasting change.

A starting point for change lies in the assessment of local
services and the identification of unmet needs. In community
after community, the development of a comprehensive community
response to rape relies on the efforts of local rape crisis
centers. The women's crisis center Mitra Perempuan has made an
outstanding effort to help the victims of rape and violence by
listening to their complaints and offering counseling services.
Besides, the center fights for women's rights as an integral part
of respect for human values and basic rights whose existence has
so far been denied.

There should also be community education programs to educate
citizens about rape. Programs of this nature would demystify the
crime, challenge rape-supportive belief systems and promote
safety through enhanced rape awareness and self-defense skills.
Rape avoidance programs could be also held to educate the public
about rape, the risks of rape and strategies for avoiding,
resisting or mitigating the brutality of rape. This is prevention
through knowledge development attitude to change.

The May rapes have taught us a valuable lesson. Rape can no
longer be considered to be simply a personal problem or an
individual tragedy. It must instead be seen as common, normative
and frighteningly logical in a patriarchal society. Ending sexual
abuse requires that women be empowered to become emotionally
strong and self respecting.

The writer is a postgraduate student at University of
Indonesia in Jakarta.

Window: The May rapes have taught us a valuable lesson. Rape can
no longer be considered to be simply a personal problem or an
individual tragedy.