Domestic violence up: Activists

A. Junaidi, Jakarta

The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) said on Saturday that the victimization of women was on the rise in recent years.

Komnas Perempuan's deputy chairwoman Myra Diarsi said her commission had recorded over 6,000 cases of violence nationwide in 2003, up from some 5,000 in the previous year.

Myra said an estimated 46 percent of the cases were categorized as domestic violence.

"The number of domestic violence cases involving women was based on police records, as well as data from hospitals and women's crisis centers across the country," Myra said in a discussion held by Komnas Perempuan and sponsored by the Body Shop Indonesia.

She said Komnas Perempuan would seek more support from the public from all walks of life to pressure President Megawati Soekarnoputri to ratify the bill on domestic violence.

Myra said the support was needed from society in the middle and upper class levels as domestic violence was also experienced by them.

"It should be the concern of all of us. Public pressure is more important as we don't have much financial support to run campaigns that support the passage of the bill," she said.

Suzy Hutomo, head of the Body Shop here, said it would support the campaign on violence against women, especially, as almost all of its customers came from the higher socio-economic levels.

"We will use our chain across the country to support the campaign. We also support the domestic violence bill," Suzy said in the discussion.

She said Komnas Perempuan, in cooperation with her company, Her World women's magazine and Female radio station, would conduct fund-raising event called the Sunday Fund Run in the Semanggi area, Central Jakarta, next week.

Besides jogging from the Semanggi area to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, Suzy said the activity would raise funds for victims of violence.

"We also want to collect signatures to support a petition for the endorsement of the domestic violence bill," she said.

Two weeks ago, hundreds of women staged "A Thousand Umbrella Peace Protest" in front of the State Palace in Central Jakarta, to demand Megawati to ratify the bill on domestic violence, which they have been fighting for since 1997.