House passes much-awaited domestic violence bill

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

TV soap stars Fivevy Rahmawati and Novia Ardhana may well have breathed a deep sigh of relief after the House of Representatives endorsed the long-awaited domestic violence bill on Tuesday.

Under the bill, perpetrators of sexual violence can be sentenced to 20 years in jail or fined up to Rp 500 million for assaults causing serious injury, mental disorder, lead to the death of an unborn child, or damage the reproductive organs.

Fivevy and Novia are only two of the many thousands of women who have been abused by their husbands.

Fivevy reported her husband, Iwan Setia Budiman, to the police in May for abusing and holding her against her will in a rented house in Menteng, Central Jakarta. The case has been brought to court.

Meanwhile, Novia reported her husband, Mohammad Bintang, to the police in July for regularly beating her, even after they were divorced.

Domestic violence is a widespread problem, and the number of reported incidents has been steadily increasing year by year. However, the willingness of some courageous victims to speak out has, in part, paved the way for the House to pass the bill.

Ratna Batara Munti, director of the Legal Aid Institute for Women (LBH Apik), said on Tuesday that her organization received 300 reports of domestic violence last year.

Between January and September of this year, she said, LBH Apik had received 10 reports of marital rape, 55 of physical violence, and 78 of psychological violence.

"We cannot provide optimum advocacy for the victims due to a lack of a legal basis as well as socio-cultural difficulties," Ratna told The Jakarta Post after witnessing the endorsement of the bill at the House.

Ratna said she hoped that the bill, when signed into law, would not only help reduce the number of domestic violence cases but also prevent them from happening.

Spokespersons for the House factions expressed similar hopes during the plenary meeting, as well as the State Minister for Women's Empowerment, Sri Rejeki Soemaryoto, representing the government.

Nurdahri Ibrahim and Nurdiati Akma, from the United Development Party (PPP) and Reform factions respectively, said that the endorsement of the bill would not encourage divorce, but would rather reduce marital violence.

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction spokesman Jacobus Mayongpadang and Golkar's Aisyah Baidhowi thanked non-governmental organization activists for their contributions.

Minister Soemaryoto said the bill's endorsement was in line with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Indonesia ratified the convention by virtue of Law No.7/1997.