Abused children find safety at shelter

Abused children find safety at shelter

Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Statistics on the number of abused children in the country do not
add up to much in comparison to the life-altering tragedy for the
child involved.

A list of recent cases is shocking and sobering. A 15-year-old
girl living in Bekasi is left pregnant by her biological father.
A three-year-old girl is raped by her own father in North
Jakarta. Two young girls are molested by their father in front of
their mother in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta.

In Greater Jakarta alone in 2001 at least 51 children,
including under-fives, were victims of sexual abuses.

The data provided by Sikap (solidarity on antiviolence against
women and children) is merely a warning for all of us that abuse
may be happening around us.

"Not a single thing that happens can be simply forgotten by
the children. Such violence is too harsh for them and also for
the parents, as they can no longer act normally," Sikap
coordinator Magdalena Sitorus said.

Her group works with children under 18 years old but these are
the victims of abuse that come forward. Many families, with
limited knowledge on trauma and treatment of sexual abuse
victims, as well as intense feelings of shame, flatly reject the
intervention of strangers.

Initially the group set up a hotline but it proved to be
inadequate. A home has been converted into a shelter for less
fortunate kids, but the address is kept confidential.

In the shelter the children are given medical, spiritual and
psychological therapy, provided by several psychologists and
doctors. For those who are not staying in the shelter, there is
volunteer outreach, said Magdalena.

Funded by the German organization Terre des Hommes, Magdalena
said one of her biggest obstacles was the fact that the public
mind-set remained patriarchical -- and often blamed the victim
for what occurred.

"The media often refer to such crimes merely as a news
commodity, and many parties are concerned but don't know how to
handle it properly," Magdalena said.

In Surakarta, Central Java, activist Emmy L.S. from the Kakak
foundation said parents or relatives often chose to believe that
when children started "to smile and play" they were on the road
to recovery, not realizing that they harbored deep psychological
scars.

The foundation also works with children who are victims of
physical abuse and child prostitutes who hang out in malls or
transportation terminals in the Surakarta area.

"Child prostitutes have sexual abuse experiences, too. If not
helped, the children will think that they don't have dignity,
feel tormented and so worthless that it makes it easier to decide
to work as a prostitute," Emmy said.

"The number is high here. It also amazes me," she said.

The foundation handled 20 rape or sexual assault cases
involving 33 children from 1999 to 2001. Of the victims, 14 were
boys and 19 girls.

Irwanto, head of the privately run Atmajaya University
research center, said it was still rare for groups or activists
to dedicate their work to handling abused children.

He said shelters should be built to help the victims to get
intense counseling or therapy, as well as providing a refuge for
children under threat.

In some cases, it was better for the volunteer to visit the
children in their homes instead of putting them in shelters.

"For young victims, they still need a familiar atmosphere and
the mother could help console them if they experience trauma
during the counseling sessions," he said.

Irwanto cautioned that some nongovernmental groups working
with street children failed to address their need for counseling
as they were mostly victims of violence.

"Street lives are harsh and the street kids are often exposed
to sexual violence. Therapy is urgent for them because they tend
to be abusive, too, if they aren't healed of their internal
wounds."

Providing therapy for victims of abuse is urgent but it is
difficult to provide here. It involves money, from the doctor's
examination, medical prescriptions and even making a police
report, he said, adding that psychological counseling was also
very expensive.

Irwanto, who is himself a psychologist, said he organized
activities to encourage his students to work with underprivileged
kids.