Crisis center helps victims of sexual abuse
By Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak
JAKARTA (JP): It looks like thousands of other houses in the city. It has a living room, a kitchen, several bedrooms and the things you find in a typical home. There is no high fence, barbed wire or bars.
Welcome to the crisis center run by the Solidarity Action for Victims of Violence Against Children and Women (SIKAP).
Here in this two-story house, sexual abuse victims find an asylum, a place to run to. The shelter is there to support people who need help coping with traumatic experiences.
The house is located in North Jakarta, but its exact location cannot be given. The organization keeps it a secret because they do not want the public, including the neighbors, to know that those staying in the house are victims of rape and other forms of sexual abuse.
Unlike the victims of crimes like robbery or fraud, people who are sexually abused are often traumatized by the experience and require time and care to cope with their feelings.
"In some cases, the rape victims are kept here because of threats from the rapists, though most of the time it is just to give them a different atmosphere from their own homes," SIKAP chairwoman Magdalena Sitorus told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Secluded in a quiet neighborhood, the shelter currently houses a family of four, including two children aged 8 and 18 months, and two teenage girls. There is also a "landlady" to whom the occupants can turn to at any time.
The wife, who is from Garut, West Java, is a victim of rape.
"She is very depressed and she needs her family to support her. Our counseling will involve the entire family," Magdalena said.
Every day, counselors come to the shelter to provide either psychological or spiritual guidelines to help heal the inner wounds. Medical doctors also come to tend the physical wounds.
The average stay in the shelter is one month, though this can be extended if a joint evaluation by counselors, psychiatrists and legal activists handling the case concludes a person is not yet ready to leave the shelter.
Magdalena said the organization works with other non- governmental organizations that deal with children and women's rights, such as the Association of Indonesian Women for Justice, Kalyanamitra, Sahabat Peduli (Friends Care) and Mitra Perempuan (Friends of Women).
SIKAP lends a hand to these other NGOs when they are handling sexual abuse cases and require help counseling a victim or approaching witnesses.
"Sometimes we pick up the victims from their homes based on news reports, since almost none of the sexual violence victims will voluntarily come to us. However, we are often rejected," she said.
Magdalena said rape victims require comprehensive help since the crime can cause larger problems in the future for a family, especially if pregnancy occurs as a result of the rape.
"Most of us do not understand or are aware of the situation, how to look at this matter, the cause and how to cope with it if the violation has taken place. These are the reasons why we have to be active in helping these people and making them aware of the issue."
She said victims of domestic violence can call SIKAP's hot line at 319-06933 for advice, just to talk to somebody or to make arrangements for face-to-face counseling.
Magdalena also said there was a need to amend the Criminal Code's narrow definition of rape, which states that rape is considered to have occurred only if the man has penetrated the woman. The law also requires two witnesses and sufficient evidence to prove the crime.
"We define rape as any coercive measure in a sexual relationship," she said, adding that the organization's network is now drafting a law against domestic violence and sexual violations.
Police data from 1999 showed that three women were raped every day in the country, though it added that the true number was likely much higher because not all rape victims report the crime.