Women activists seek rights' protection

Debbie A. Lubis, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Among the most vulnerable to acts of violence, women in Indonesia have nowhere to turn for protection because weak laws and a culture of impunity that often allows violations to go unpunished, activists said on Monday.

Grouped under Kaulan Perempuan, women's activists from 21 non- governmental organizations from across the country urged the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to pressure the government to do more to protect women from violence.

"The commission should force the country to investigate, disclose and bring to court whoever commits violence against women," the group said in a statement.

The statement was released on Monday in conjunction with the commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

The National Commission of Women, one of the NGOs in the group, has recorded some 3,169 cases of violence against women committed by individual, collective and state actors in 14 regions in the country.

The cases include Indonesians forced to serve as comfort women for Japanese soldiers during World War II, the murder of labor activist Marsinah, rapes during the 1998 Jakarta riots and incidents of sexual abuse in Aceh, Papua and the former Indonesian territory of East Timor.

Most of the cases are individual or gang rapes, domestic violence, sexual harassment and violence in the workplace, exploitation of female laborers and trafficking women.

"Only in East Timor have these cases reached the judicial process. However, of 13 dossiers on rape cases submitted since February this year, none have gone to court," the group said.

Most of the cases failed to proceed because of an absence of evidence and an unwillingness on the part of victims and witnesses to testify, according to the NGO.

"Witnesses and victims are afraid and reluctant to testify because our laws do not provide protection for witnesses or victims," the group said.

Many victims are reluctant to testify because they do not want to relive their assault in front of judges, lawyers and their accused attackers, the group said.

Another NGO, the Legal Advocacy Body of the Association of Indonesian Women for Justice, said it had dealt with 255 cases of violence against women in Jakarta.

Kaulan Perempuan also said the refusal to allocate 30 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives to women was another form of violence against women, because it marginalized them in the realm of politics.

Komnas HAM deputy chairwoman Zoemrotin K. Susilo said often the commission was unable to take cases to court because the process also depended on other institutions such as the Attorney General's Office and the police.

She also said the commission would work to keep the public informed about the progress it was making on cases.

"There are too many political factors that are beyond the commission's reach. So the public will know where and what factors have stalled certain cases. The public also will find out who does not have the good will to resolve cases," Zoemrotin said.