Compromise reached on domestic violence bill
A. Junaidi, Jakarta
The government and women activists have settled their dispute on a controversial article on marital rape in the domestic violence bill which, if enacted, will carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail.
"During our last meeting with government officials, we agreed to maintain the article, on condition that a police report should be based on a victim's complaint," director of the Legal Aid Institute/Association of Indonesian Women for Justice (LBH-APIK) Ratna Batara Munti said.
Officials from the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Office of the State Minister of Women's Empowerment had earlier rejected marital rape as a crime based on interpretation of religious teachings and moral and cultural judgments.
Ratna said the activists had agreed with the government's demand for the exclusion of an article that required the state to provide compensation to victims of domestic violence.
"We also agreed that the bill would not be retroactive," Ratna told a press conference at the office of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan).
The commission earlier reported a persistent increase in the number of reports of violence against women over the last three years. From 3,169 cases reported in 2001, the figure rose to 5,163 in 2002 and 5,934 in 2003.
Of the cases reported last year, only 162 went to court, while the others were withdrawn by the victims or dropped due to insufficient evidence.
A women's non-governmental organization, Kalyanamitra, reported on Thursday there were 806 cases of violence against women last year that involved mostly children and teenagers.
"Most of the victims were underaged while the perpetrators were people close to the victims, like fathers, stepfathers, husbands, uncles and neighbors," Kalyanamitra researcher Dina Permana Sari said in a discussion.
Dina said last year's cases of violence against women were categorized into rape (558 cases), domestic violence (150 cases) and sexual harassment (98 cases).
She said the research was based on reports from 10 newspapers across the country: The Jakarta Post, Kompas, Republika, Pos Kota of Jakarta, Pikiran Rakyat of Bandung, Waspada of Medan, Singgalang of Padang, Suara Merdeka of Semarang, Kedaulatan Rakyat of Yogyakarta and Memorandum of Surabaya.
Articles related to marital rape
Article 5: Prohibited acts categorized as domestic sexual violence:
a. Sexual harassment;
b. Forcing another to have sexual intercourse
c. Forcing another to engage in unnatural sex acts or any act with which they are uncomfortable;
d. Forcing another into intercourse for commercial or other purposes;
e. Damaging a women's reproductive organs.
Article 54: Anybody who perpetrates domestic sexual violence as mentioned in:
a. Article 5 (a) is liable to a minimum four years and maximum 10 years in prison or a minimum Rp 4 million and maximum Rp 10 million fine.
b. Article 5 (b) is liable to a minimum four years and maximum 15 years in prison or a minimum Rp 4 million and maximum Rp 50 million fine.
c. Article 5 (c) is liable to a minimum four years and maximum 15 years in prison or a minimum Rp 4 million and maximum Rp 75 million fine.
d. Article 5 (d) is liable to a minimum four years and maximum 20 years in prison or a minimum Rp 4 million and maximum Rp 100 million fine.