Rita fights against hidden crime

Rita fights against hidden crime

T.Sima Gunawan, Contributor, Jakarta

tabita@cbn.net.id

A young woman tried to commit suicide by drinking insecticide.
She forced her two children to swallow the agent because her
husband was going to marry another woman. The youngest child, who
was still a baby, died. But she and her eldest child survived.

The desperate woman was tried at North Jakarta District Court
and later sent to prison.

In Bekasi, a woman took a knife from the kitchen and stabbed
her husband who had frequently assaulted her. The man died and
the woman surrendered herself to the police. She was declared
guilty by the court and was also put behind bars.

These were two of many cases handled by lawyer Rita Serena
Kolibonso during her decade with the Jakarta Institute of Legal
Aid (LBH), from 1986 to 1996.

From such cases, she observed there was a hidden crime that
was not thoroughly addressed by the court -- domestic violence.

Many women suffered from assault, inflicted upon them by their
husbands physically and/or mentally. But the issue was given
little attention, since the common perception is that domestic
violence is a private matter.

In 1995, along with several women activists, Rita set up the
Foundation for the Elimination of Violence against Women and
Mitra Perempuan (literally women's friend) crisis center. The
foundation and the center were established following the 4th
World Conference on Women in Beijing, which underlined violence
against women as a critical issues, and a national workshop here
on the issue, which proposed the development of a crisis center
for women.

After the May 1998 riots, the issue was taken up by the media,
with reports that dozens of women had been gang-raped.

"The case became the momentum to reveal the rampant violence
against women in Aceh, as well as sexual harassment, domestic
violence and the many rape cases that happened then and now,"
Rita, executive director of Mitra Perempuan, said last weekend
before speaking at an event to observe the 75th Women's Day on
Dec. 20.

"We are now struggling for the issuance of the law on violence
against women, which includes domestic violence," she said.

A draft of the law had been drawn up in 1998 and the House of
Representatives had agreed to deliberate it. But, although a
letter asking President Megawati Soekarnoputri to appoint
institutions to discuss the draft had been sent to her in May of
this year, Rita said, the President was yet to respond.

Born in Jakarta on Dec. 27, 1961, Rita graduated from the
University of Indonesia's School of Law.

"Actually, I also wanted to become a pilot. After I graduated
from high school in 1981, I read in a newspaper that the Air
Force needed people to fly their airplanes. But when I went to
their headquarters, I was told they didn't accept women," Rita
said.

She then enrolled in law school because, "I was curious about
what it would be like to become a notary public like one of my
neighbors, or a judge".

Her concern for the marginalized -- especially women --
deepened when she worked at LBH, which provides free legal aid
for the poor.

"I learned about the realities of society, about poverty, and
the problems of the poor, who find it hard to get access to
justice. I also learned about the chaotic legal system," she
said.

She recalled that she had often been scolded by court clerks,
because she refused to "supplement" their official fee.

She had encountered corrupt judges, police and prosecutors who
had asked for money, and also many bad lawyers who bribed law
enforcers.
It was persistence that got her through, otherwise, she said
she would never have been served.

Rita, who got her masters degree in international law and
commercial law at the Sheffield University in England in 1997,
was also the deputy director of the National Commission of
Violence against Women from 1998 until earlier this year.

Along with other activists, Rita is developing a radio
program to promote the rights of women, including in the family.
Every Thursday morning from 9 to 10 a.m. Mitra Perempuan is
broadcast by Radio Bahana Metropolitan on (frequency) 101.95 FM.
Once a week, Radio Pelita Kasih on 96.35 FM broadcasts a similar
program.

The women's crisis center, located in South Jakarta, now has
two branches, in Bogor and in Tangerang. Besides providing
private counseling, it runs programs educating workers in several
factories in Tangerang on sexual harassment and domestic
violence.

This year, up until last week, the crisis center handled more
than 272 complaints of domestic violence.

"It can happen to anyone, not only people from low-income
families, but from all walks of life," Rita said, adding that
Mitra Perempuan also received reports of domestic violence
involving expatriates and refugees.

Reproductive health is Rita's other main concern. Indonesia
has the highest maternal mortality rate in Southeast Asia, with a
ratio of 396 deaths per 100,000 births.

"Half of the deaths are caused by unsafe abortions," Rita
said.

Abortion is illegal here, unless it is done to save the mother
and/or the child, as stipulated by Law No. 23/1992.

"The law should be revised. The government has the right to
protect women and to prevent deaths from unsafe abortions," Rita
said.

"It's not about pro-life or pro-choice. I believe in the
quality of life. A healthy person should be mentally, socially
and economically healthy," she said.

Rita, who remains single, used to take public buses when she
was still with LBH. After so many years of hard work, she can
afford a car but prefers to take a taxi.

"It's more practical. I can be more relaxed and I don't have
to think about where to park the vehicle. Besides, I don't want
to contribute to traffic jams," said Rita, who likes watching
movies and loves Robert de Niro, Harrison Ford, Richard Gere and
Julia Roberts.