Passing of domestic violence bill urged

Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) is urging the government to endorse the bill on domestic violence (RUU A-KDRT) before the April general election.

The chief of the commission, Kamala Chandrakirana, said on Monday that without the bill being passed into law, the 303 institutions working together with Komnas Perempuan would not be able to help domestic violence victims by punishing the guilty parties.

"We have been discussing the bill intensively with the House of Representatives since early last year, but until now there is no sign that the draft will be endorsed soon," said Kamala.

Komnas Perempuan stated that due to the increasing number of cases of domestic violence, the government should endorse it soon as part of the country's commitment to upholding citizens' rights, especially those of women.

A report by Komnas Perempuan shows that of 5,934 reported cases of violence, approximately 46 percent (2,703 cases) involved domestic violence or violence within the family.

Domestic violence is a situation where the guilty party is a relative of the victim -- husband, sibling, parent, grandparent or even boyfriend.

"Domestic violence is not limited to assault only, but can be anything such as sexual harassment, rape or psychological abuse," said Kamala.

She further said that it was difficult to find data on domestic violence because most victims did not want to report the violence perpetrated against them.

Therefore, Komnas Perempuan together with other institutions such as women's crisis centers and the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) are trying to make people more aware of the problem of violence against women, reasoning that it is everyone's responsibility to reduce the number of such cases.

From year to year, the reports of violence against women has constantly increased. In 2001, the number of reported cases was 3,169, and in the following year, the figure jumped to 5,163 cases. During 2003, the number of reported cases was 5,934.

From a total of the 5,934 cases, only 162 cases reached court, the others were withdrawn by the victims or failed because there was insufficient evidence.

Recently, Komnas Perempuan, working together with 14 organizations across the country, held a 16-day campaign to stop violence against women. The campaign started on Nov. 25 last year in 15 cities throughout the country.