Incest cases rarely reported

Jon Afrizal, The Jakarta Post, Jambi

A family planning activist in Jambi said on Tuesday that incest remained a problem in the province, with five to 10 new cases uncovered each year.

The majority of the victims and their families never file police reports for fear the scandal will tarnish their families, allowing the perpetrators to evade justice, said Asmawati Dahlan, an activist with Indonesian Planned Parenthood.

"The women must have the courage to report the rapes to the police so that the cases can be investigated and the perpetrators prosecuted. If this happens, it can serve as a deterrent to prevent others from committing the same crime in the future," said Asmawati.

She said the victims were usually girls who were raped by a grandfather, father or brother.

The victims, mostly under 17 years of age, are frequently threatened with death if they refuse the sexual advances or tell anyone that they were raped, she said.

Asmawati said she discovered one case in Petaling district where a teenager raped his sister several times.

"The two siblings used to be left at home alone together, while their parents went to work on a rubber plantation.

"This gave the brother the opportunity to rape his sister while the parents were gone," said Asmawati.

The girl never told her parents about the rapes because she was afraid of her brother. The crime was only discovered when the girl became pregnant, said Asmawati.

Asmawati said easy access to pornographic movies in the province contributed to many of the incest cases.

Another contributing factor is the lack of tough laws to punish those who commit incest.

"One tribunal of local community leaders merely expelled one perpetrator in Bungo to another subdistrict for his crime," said Asmawati.

Asmawati said the Indonesian Planned Parenthood was very active in providing free sex education to locals. It also provides free counseling for victims of rape.

The group's efforts have received the backing of police.

Jambi Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Djoko Turachman said the police would intensify their raids on the distributors of pornographic VCDs.

The police also called on rape victims to file police reports so the perpetrators could be prosecuted.