Women activists seek rights' protection
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.