Women on panel of judges

Women on panel of judges

With reference to a report in The Jakarta Post of Nov. 11,
1999 entitled Observers slam rape case panel proposal, the
Coalition of Indonesian Women for Justice and Democracy herewith
declares its stance as follows:

1. That the Coalition of Indonesian Women supports fully the idea
of State Minister of the Empowerment of Women, Khofifah Indar
Parawansa, who has suggested that a regulation should be issued
to stipulate that each panel of judges examining rape cases and
cases of violence against women should include at least one woman
judge. The Coalition of Indonesian Women has suggested that there
should be two women judges on said panel.

2. That the idea is in line with the principle of gender balance
and women's approach in cases of violence against women and or
cases concerned with women's interests in general. The issuance
of a regulation requiring the presence of a woman judge on a
panel of judges examining every rape case or case of violence
against women and other women-related matters, will at least give
peace and courage to women to make a legal complaint about their
problems. The same approach -- which should actually be a model
-- is the policy adopted by the Indonesian police force by
establishing a Special Service Room for victims of violence.

3. It should be admitted that the presence of a woman judge on
this panel of judges does not necessarily guarantee the interests
of a woman who is a rape victim or a victim of other forms of
violence, but at least the empathy shown by fellow women can give
a different nuance to improve gender sensitivity on the part of
our judges, particularly women judges. This effort has actually
been made by the government itself or by other non-governmental
institutions through workshops or upgrading courses on gender
problems or problems of violence against women. However, once
again, the certainty that there are one or two women judges on a
panel of judges examining a rape case and other cases of violence
against women is needed.

4. In a highly patriarchal society and state system and amidst
the prevailing gender imbalance in all aspects of life,
particularly in occupations and education, it is very difficult
to apply purely a system of meritocracy and all the more so with
the inter-gender competition system without any intervention
through affirmative action as regulated in Article 4 of the
Convention juncto Law No. 7/1984.

5. In this context, the Coalition of Indonesian Women urges the
principle of gender balance in all levels of bureaucracy and
decision making, particularly in the Supreme Court, the Police
and the Attorney General's Office.

NURSYAHBANI KATJASUNGKANA

Secretary-General

Indonesian Women's Coalition

for Justice and Democracy

Jakarta