House passes much-awaited domestic violence bill

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.