New crisis center persists to change public attitude

By Imelda Anwar

JAKARTA (JP): A new crisis center for victims of domestic violence is hanging on to its cause although it has drawn only 10 patients in the three weeks since opening.

The crisis center at the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM) believes that domestic violence is a more common occurrence in society than most people realize, but it is rarely reported and the victims are rarely treated.

The center, located close to the hospital's emergency unit, offers a one-stop service to women and children who are victims of domestic violence.

Besides providing medical treatment, the center provides assistance in psychological treatment and legal counseling, and works closely with the police and institutions which run shelter homes for the victims.

Although it has not been very busy, the center also sees its mission as raising public awareness about domestic violence and about the need for people to come forward, report incidents to the authorities and seek treatment.

Because of the nature of the violence, these incidents are rarely reported, until things get really bad, such as when the victims require medical treatment. Based on this, experts at the clinic believe that only 10 percent of cases of domestic violence, a criminal offense, find their way to the courtrooms.

The crisis center is a pilot project by the hospital in collaboration with the National Commission on Violence Against Women, the Jakarta Police, the University of Indonesia, several NGOs and the Office of State Minister for Women's Empowerment.

"We run a 24-hour hotline service," Budi Sampurna, head of RSCM crisis center, said.

The center, which is fully funded by a foreign organization, currently employs six general practitioners, three nurses and four social workers as well as several on-call psychologists, psychiatrists, gynecologists, and lawyers.

Almost all the 10 cases handled since its opening were related to sexual abuse.

Mutia Prayanti Errufana, an obstetrician at the center, said the current trend is for victims to report to the police station first, before being referred to various institutions and to a hospital for medical treatment.

Mutia believed that more and more victims in the future will come to the center first.

Burning pain

She related the example of a seven-year old girl, who came with her mother, complaining of burning pain in her stomach and vagina, especially every time she urinated. The girl later told the doctors that she had been sexually abused by her uncle, who had also threatened to kill her if she told anyone.

Proving cases of domestic violence in court however could be even more challenging. Most cases were settled "in a familial way" and never reached the courtroom.

Iit Rahmatid, a lawyer at the Indonesian Association of Women for Justice, said the current criminal code states that sex with a minor -- under 15 years old -- is a crime punishable by up to nine years in jail.

The law, however, as stated in Article 287 of the code, requires the presence of a witness to testify sexual abuse.

Iit said psychological counseling often helped victims to press charges against their assailants.

Kaliana Mitra, a women's organization, said it handled 47 cases of violence against woman in 1999, and 19 cases so far this year, mostly involving domestic violence.

Saparinah Sadli, chairwoman of the National Commission for Women, said the qualifications and ability of those who handled cases of domestic violence is important.

"They have to be gender-sensitive," she said.

Public opinion has a tendency to throw blame at the victims when what they need is support and understanding, Saparinah said.

Society puts pressure on victims to keep the case within the family and to carry the pain by themselves, she added. (07)