Rape, violence rock the country

By T. Sima Gunawan and Rita A. Widiadana

Reports on the brutal rape of a mother and her two teenage daughters in Bekasi, east of Jakarta, on Monday had not yet died down when police announced they had arrested four teenagers several hours after allegedly raping a junior high school girl in South Jakarta last Thursday. Rape is a serious crime, but traditional the view of women, and lack of severe punishments for rapists have contributed to the high number of rape cases in Indonesia. The Jakarta Post interviews experts on the issue.

JAKARTA (JP): Every woman, regardless of their social class, is prone to sexual crimes. Rape is the most serious of the offenses.

Reports about a brutal rape case have swamped local media the last few days. A mother and her two teenage daughters were brutally gang raped in their house in Bekasi, east of the city, earlier this week while the father was bound by a rope.

The public reacted by expressing their empathy towards the victims and condemning the criminals. With wrath and disgust, some, including Minister of Women's Role Mien Sugandhi, demanded that the rapists be sentenced to death if they are found.

Without specifically mentioning sexual violence, President Soeharto on Thursday called for more effort to contain crime and violence, which have been on the rise in Indonesia.

The police are holding several suspects for questioning about the Bekasi rape case, and pledge to investigate the crime thoroughly.

In another rape case, four teenagers were arrested several hours after allegedly raping a junior high school girl in South Jakarta Thursday.

Handling sexual offenses, including rape cases, is not easy. The main element to prove a rape is the occurrence of forced penetration. The others include the presence of witnesses and physical evidence, such as sperm.

"In general, it is really difficult to prove rape," criminal lawyer Mohamad Assegaf pointed out.

"A rape usually takes place without the presence of any witness and the alleged rapist often argues that the sexual contact is based on mau sama mau (the willingness of both sides)," he said.

Immediate examination must be done to find evidence of forced sexual intercourse or violence.

"But the victims will need sometime for the examination or police questioning," said lawyer Rita Serena Kolibonso from the Jakarta chapter of the Legal Aid Institute (LBH).

Of the 395 criminal cases reported to LBH in 1992, 10 percent of them were rape, she said.

City police recorded more than 2,300 cases of sexual violence against women in 1992. The number jumped to 3,200 in 1993 while the first half of 1994 saw 3,000 cases.

Since April this year, city police have recorded an average of 7.5 rape cases a month. Last month the police recorded eight cases while this month at least six cases have been recorded.

The actual number of rape cases is apparently much higher because many victims are reluctant to report the crime for various reasons including fear of reprisal, stigmatization, humiliation and feelings of guilt and self-blame.

Virginity

"The fact that society 'worships' (women's) virginity is a burden to rape victims," Rita said.

Many people in Indonesia consider a woman's virginity crucial. They demand that women, but not men, stay virgins until they are married. A clear example of this is the 1991's case of local singer Farid Harja, who divorced his non-virgin wife only four days after their marriage. There are men who take advantage of the situation by taking another woman as a second wife after they find that the brides are not virgins.

Due to this concept, most physicians who examine rape victims concentrate on the hymen, Rita said.

"Instead of checking whether or not there has been any violence against the women, the doctors will see whether or not the hymen is broken," she said.

Assegaf blamed local media for dramatizing the situation by reporting that rape victims face a bleak future.

He observed that the media has isolated rape victims.

"The media gives great attention to rape cases if the victims are teenagers or single women, but I don't think they will give similar attention if the victims are divorcees," Assegaf said.

The maximum sentence under the existing criminal code is 12 years in jail.

The draft of the new criminal code stipulates the same punishment. If the victim is injured or dies, the maximum punishment is 15 years in jail. Unlike the current law, however, the draft sets a minimum three-year jail term.

Both the current law and the draft don't cover marital rape.

The public has long wanted a minimum sentence for rapists and has urged the court to mete out harsher penalties for rapists, particularly those who violate minors.

The Kompas daily reported last month that the Bekasi District Court sentenced a defendant to five months and two weeks for raping a minor. The Bangil District Court in East Java sentenced two teenagers to 18 months and six months respectively for raping seven minors. A resident of Tangerang, west of the city, received an 11-year jail term for sexually abusing his daughter. In South Sulawesi, a court sentenced a 17-year-old man to 20 years in jail for raping a minor and then strangling her to death and robbing her.

These cases illustrate the different attitude of judges toward rape, a serious problem faced by the Indonesian justice system.

Melly G. Tan, a sociologists from the Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI), said that harsh punishment may not eliminate rape, but at least will arouse a sense of social justice among the community, women in particular.

"It will also give women a sense of security," she said.

Commenting on the Bekasi's rape, Melly stated that this was really biadab, a very inhuman criminal conduct.

"I don't see any connection with personal or social gap," she said.

In many rape cases, she explained, women were often blamed for attracting unscrupulous men with provocative behavior.

In the Bekasi case, "There was not any provocation at all. Moreover, the rapists did not steal any item at their house," she said.

The motive behind the crime is still not clear.

Noting that there has been an alarming increase in rapes in Jakarta and other cities, Melly believes that there isn't anything to discourage men from committing the act.

Misconception

Many people see rape as an urban crime.

"But it is very hard to say that a rape case or other sexual- related crime is one of negative impacts from any development progress because the crime has already happened for years in both rural and urban areas as well," Syarifah Sabarudin, a criminologist from the University of Indonesia, said.

She said rape originates from the distorted relationship among men and women. Previously women were considered the property of their fathers and later their husbands. Some people continue to believe this.

"This is a crime of a patriarchy system which offers no protection for women against violence," Syarifah said.

Rape is a reflection of a male's supremacy over a women, she added.

Social change is obviously needed in the fight against rape and other sexual related crimes. This is a complex problem which requires full participation from all parts of society -- not just the law agents of the government.

Helping victims regain their confidence is important. The crime often leaves them stigmatized for a long time, possibly for the rest of their life.

Jakarta-based feminist group Kalyanamitra and some individuals, including Rita, plan to establish crisis centers to help victims of sexual crimes.

The government has neglected such action, which is quite deplorable. Minister Mien Sugandhi regularly declares that rapists must be executed. She also suggested that they be exposed on television. To demonstrate her seriousness she visited the Bekasi rape victims to express her empathy.

Real action, establishing a crisis center for example, would be more helpful.