Cases of violence against women rising in NTB

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.