Women try to salvage domestic violence bill
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Women activists on Thursday met legislators in a desperate attempt to salvage what they had considered a nearly ideal domestic violence bill a few weeks before the current term of the House of Representatives ends.
The activists raised concerns that marital rape had been excluded from the list of crimes that constituted violence in the drafting of the domestic violence bill.
"The agreement of legislators to take out the clause on marital rape clearly shows that the state is reluctant to give legal protection to women," activist Nia Sjarifuddin said at a hearing with legislators of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
The women, who were also scheduled to meet other factions, failed to prevent the exclusion of marital rape as this week's deliberations of the bill entered closed sessions.
While the draft bill came from the House, several legislators have recently challenged certain clauses and questioned the bill's underlying principle that domestic violence is not a private affair.
Representatives of the National Commission Against Violence Against Women and dozens of other organizations are closely watching the deliberations before the new legislators elected in April are installed in early October.
Other crucial clauses are those on the provision of evidence, which allow victims to be considered a primary and sole witness, unlike in other criminal cases.
The passing of the bill would help at least 300 institutions and organizations working together with the commission to help victims of domestic violence. If enacted into law the bill would be more effective in punishing those found guilty of domestic violence and would recognize the responsibility of protection by the state, through awarding compensation to victims.
A report by the national women's rights body shows that from over 5,934 reported cases of violence, about 46 percent (2,703 cases) involved violence within the household, a gradual increase from previous years. However, only a fraction, or 162 cases, reached court, while other cases were withdrawn by the victims or failed to stand up in court because the evidence was ruled insufficient.
Domestic violence is defined in the latest draft as violence carried out by a member or former member of the household -- a spouse or former spouse, child, sibling, parent, grandparent or servant -- against another household member.
PDI-P legislator Gunawan Slamet acknowledged there was a tough debate during the bill's deliberation. However, he declined to explain why the legislators dropped the clause on marital rape.
If marital rape is recognized as a crime, anyone proven guilty of forcing intercourse or sexual acts on his or her spouse would face a maximum 20-year jail term or be fined Rp 100 million.
Responding to the activists' proposal to put "economic violence" on the bill, Gunawan said the definition was still too vague.
The proposal proposes offenses to include that of financial neglect, not allowing a spouse to work or forcing a spouse to work against their will, such as in prostitution.
The women also met legislators Aisyah Baidhowi and Marthina Wally from the Golkar faction and legislators Tari Siwi Utami and Safira from the National Awakening Party (PKB) faction, who all pledged to fight for the endorsement of the House draft.