Cases of violence against women rising in NTB

Luh Putu Trisna Wahyuni, Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara.

Cases of violence against women have continued to increase every year in West Nusa Tenggara province.

Household violence topped cases of abuse against local women, followed by rapes and other crimes. Economic problems have been blamed for the increase of those cases.

Data from the Association of Indonesian Women for Justice (APIK) shows there were 43 cases of violence against women in the province, which have been handled by the legal aid group in 2000.

In 2001, the figures increased to 70 cases, and rose drastically to 729 cases a year later. By September 2003, the APIK recorded 710 cases.

APIK director Beauty Erawaty said on Monday that at least one woman died this year due to household violence.

"With the increase in polygamy cases, the number of rapes and household abuse rises too. A woman was shot to death by her husband, while 11 others were badly injured," she said.

The victim was identified as Zubaedah, who was shot by her husband Arifin, a policeman from Dompu regency. She had been beaten several times for refusing to get divorced as Arifin wanted to marry another woman.

Zubaidah was killed with a pistol after she caught her husband with another woman.

The cases of rape have also caused a serious concern in West Nusa Tenggara. In 2001, APIK dealt with at least 57 cases.

Between 2002 and 2003, APIK's data showed 72 rape cases, with 90 percent of the victims aged below 16 years.

The number of rape cases may have been much greater than the data shows, as it is believed that many other victims have been reluctant to report their cases to the APIK.

Several of the cases involved fathers who raped their own daughters until they became pregnant and gave birth to their fathers' babies.

Beauty lamented the failure of the local authorities to enforce Law No. 23/2002 on child protection.

"Their reason is that there is still no government regulation on child protection. Why is it that other cases be settled legally, while cases of violence against women cannot be dealt with in a court of law?" she asked.

She admitted that her organization found it difficult to present evidence in cases of violence against women. Take for example the Zubaedah case, in which her husband was jailed for illegally possessing a firearm, but not for any charges related to killing his wife.

"The law and the government do not side with women. Why have cases of household violence always been settled out of court? The same goes with rape cases. Isn't it outrageous? And the reason is always that there were no complaints from victims."

Besides, victims of household violence generally do not file reports until after being abused continuously over a long period, Beauty said.

On Monday, activists from APIK and other non-governmental organizations held a rally at the West Nusa Tenggara governor's office to demand that the local government protect women.

They also urged the local legal authorities to take action against those involved in violence against women.