Domestic violence accepted: Midwife
Domestic violence accepted: Midwife
Leony Aurora , Jakarta
"Do you know how it feels to work hard but not see any results?"
asked midwife Ni Luh Sutini of Cakung public health center, East
Jakarta, located near the Cakung industrial area. A tone of
sadness rang through the morning air.
Since 2001, only 60 cases have been recorded in the health
center after it agreed to become a pilot project providing first
aid for women experiencing domestic violence.
It has dealt with women and children abused by other family
members. The abuse ranges from being hit when they want to use
contraception, to sexual assault. From 60 cases, only one -- in
which an eight-year-old girl had been raped -- was reported to
the police and the rapist put behind bars.
"They (the women) perceive being hit as normal," Sutini told
The Jakarta Post over the weekend. "They keep saying to me, 'It's
OK 'bu, it's going to be OK again later'."
It was still taboo to disclose family problems, she added.
In a patriarchal country such as Indonesia, society still
expects that a husband should be highly respected as the head of
the family, no matter how irresponsible he might be. Confronted
by such a cultural obstacle, it is difficult -- if not impossible
-- to expect women who live in the area to step forward and ask
for help.
To ensure that women can pour their heart out in private, the
health center has set up a special room in its modest pregnancy
clinic, located some 200 meters away. However, there is no sign
to indicate the place provides help for abused women or children.
Working for three years on the project, Sutini said nobody had
ever gone to file a report. She usually tries to get women
suspected of being abused to speak out while she checks if they
are pregnant.
"Sometimes we hear about abuse from the people around here;
then we visit the house," she said.
According to Sutini, the women filing complaints used to be
required to sign patient status cards. As it was difficult to ask
abused women to sign, due to their fear of being divorced or hit,
they were no longer asked to do it.
Very little detail is provided on the cards, but such detail
would be vital if perpetrators were to be convicted.
The cases usually occurred a long time ago, anyway, she said.
"We now work to find cases that can be used as data."
Despite holding several meetings to inform the public on
domestic violence and the role of the health center, people's
reluctance had not lessened, said Sutini.
"Sometimes, I wonder, is it just due to my lack of education
or what," she groaned in frustration.
Only three workers at the health center -- head of the center
Zylva Yenny, head of the pregnancy clinic Ani Sriwiryaningsih and
Sutini herself -- have received any training.
Sutini claimed she did not know for sure who organized the
training or what agency was directly responsible for the pilot
project.
Jakarta Health Agency spokeswoman Evy Zelfino, however, said
that the project was run by the National Commission on Women. The
agency did not have a plan to replicate the program just yet, as
it still needed to be improved, she added.
Sutini implored that other institutions be involved in
handling cases of domestic violence. "It is very difficult for us
to act without the support of local administrations."
If the program were adopted by the local administration,
neighborhood unit heads and women in the Family Welfare Movement
(PKK) could help in identifying suitable cases, she said.
Otherwise, in the midst of all the problems engulfing the
country, domestic violence involving women and children as
victims will continue to be swept under the carpet.
I-box
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Types of Cases 2001 2002 2003 2004*
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Slapped 11 4 5 3
Hit 10 3 2 1
Pushed against another object 1 1 1 -
Sexually assaulted 4 - - -
Denied birth control 5 2 4 3
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Total 31 10 12 7
* As of April 2004
Source: Cakung Public Health Center