Building a civil society

Building a civil society

Amid continuing gross violations in Indonesia of the basic
human right to shelter -- as the forced eviction of squatters in
Jakarta has so dramatically illustrated in the past few weeks --
this year's focus on domestic violence in commemorating World
Human Rights Day -- today -- is an appropriate reminder of the
complexity of the human rights issue in this country.

Certainly, the right to shelter -- that is, to a decent place
to live for oneself and one's family -- is one of the most basic
of human rights, and for that reason the violation of this right
tends to appeal immediately to the emotions and sensitivities of
the public. Perhaps for the same reason too, far too little
attention is being devoted to other aspects of human rights, of
which domestic violence and violence committed against women and
children are examples.

In paternalistic countries such as Indonesia, in particular,
where males are by tradition regarded as the dominant members of
the community in practically all aspects of life, these two
categories of violence -- domestic violence and violence against
women -- are not easily laid bare for everyone to see, much less
for the perpetrators to be tried and punished in a public court
of law.

Lack of data on domestic violence, however, does not mean that
such violence is seldom committed.

Statistics released by the Jakarta Police, for example, show
that in 2001, only 83 cases of violence against women were
committed, and that only 37 of those were cases of domestic
violence. In 2002 police recorded 70 cases of violence against
women, of which 39 were cases of domestic violence. As of the end
of August this year, only 49 cases of domestic violence were
reported from a total of 84 cases of violence against women. For
a metropolitan city of more than 10 million inhabitants, such low
figures are simply not credible.

Observations made by human rights activists and even
admissions from police officers suggest that the cases so far
revealed to the public are no more than the tip of a proverbial
iceberg, while by far the majority of cases remain unexposed. As
far as the community is concerned, many, if not most, cases of
domestic violence are not known about because they occur in the
privacy of the home and involve only individuals who maintain
close relations with each other on a daily basis.

But aside from reluctance and the sense of shame that is often
felt by victims of such violence, another major reason why cases
of domestic violence tend to remain buried lies in the legal
domain. In a discussion held in Jakarta last month, head of the
special investigation team for women's affairs at the Jakarta
Police Adj. Comr. Suzana Dias said that for such cases to be
taken to court, the law requires that the victim register a
formal complaint with the police. Besides, at least two witnesses
are required to have been present during the incident, which
makes it easy to believe officers' claims that most cases that do
get reported are later dropped by victims due to lack of
evidence.

Regrettably, discussions in the House of Representatives to
address these shortcomings by passing a law for the protection of
individuals, male or female of whatever age, against domestic
violence, is progressing at a snail's pace. It seems that here
too the forces of reform are finding themselves pitched against
the traditionalists in the male-dominated national legislature.
Although conceding that change is needed, they insist that such
change take place gradually and without contradicting the
accepted codes of moral conduct.

This year's emphasis on the issue of domestic violence in
commemorating World Human Rights Day, then, is a timely reminder
that Indonesia too needs to heed the global mood of the times and
put more emphasis on the passing of legislation against domestic
violence. The Indonesian nation is at present confronted by a
host of problems involving human rights that needs to be
addressed. Rather than letting these problems spiral out of
control, it would be much better for Indonesians to resolve them
as speedily as they can so that they can progress on the road
toward the establishment of a healthy civil society.