Victims rights
Crimes, especially in urban centers such as Jakarta, have not only increased in number and frequency but also in brutality. This trend has sparked public anger and an attendant boost in sympathy for the victims.
The latest incident of brutality was inflicted in July on the family of Acan, a poor farmer living in Bekasi, 30 km south of Jakarta. Acan's wife and his two underaged daughters were pulled out of bed and mercilessly gang-raped.
Before that, Herbin Hutagalung suffered a no less bitter experience when his wife, elder sister, daughter and two sons were murdered in Pondok Gede, East Jakarta, last year.
The suspected rapists in the Bekasi case will soon stand trial with all their rights respected. They will be flanked by defense lawyers and receive a fair trial.
Herbin Hutagalung, on the other hand, is still weeping over the tragic loss of his family. Many people seem to have forgotten his ordeal, though not the police, who still are hunting for the killer.
These stomach-wrenching acts should not only have stung our emotions, but should also force us to think about the rights and the fate of all crime victims. What, for example, will happen to the rest of a family if the sole breadwinner is murdered or the children raped?
The wife of a murdered husband will no doubt have to struggle to make ends meet. In many cases she will have to ask the children to quit school and help at home, which would at least spare the children the discomfort they would inevitably feel back in school.
These poor creatures could possibly lose all hope of being able to lead a normal life, suffering for far longer than the jail terms dealt to the perpetrators of the crime.
In Acan's case, the simple-minded farmer has decided to stay at home indefinitely, not only because of the trauma but because every time he goes out he is bombarded with questions from local residents about what happened and how.
From a humanitarian point of view, certain television stations and newspapers may not have acted prudently by giving the case so much coverage, interviewing and exposing the rape victims. It is possible that the media did not stop to think about the future of the ill-fated women.
This country, in its own way, is moving to give better care to destitute citizens. Now it is time to think about the fate of crime victims such as Acan and Herbin Hutagalung. Every thinking person loathes seeing the victims suffer. But pity is not enough.
To overcome the psychological side of such human tragedies the authorities need to set up consultation centers for victims of rape, torture and other forms of cruelty.
Our lawmakers need to take action. They should assign the Ministry of Social Affairs the task of developing special laws and funds to help reduce the rising frequency of these heinous crimes.