Domestic violence up: Activists

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.