Women's rights activists attack judiciary on attitudes to rape
Women's rights activists attack judiciary on attitudes to rape
JAKARTA (JP): Law enforcers and judges are prejudiced against
women when dealing with rape cases, women's rights activists said
yesterday.
In a discussion sponsored by 16 non-governmental organizations
specializing on women's rights, the activists accused police
interrogators and judges of believing that victims were guilty in
rape cases.
"Police, judges and other legal officers still regard rape as
a myth, accusing rape victims of being the guilty party," said
Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, a legal expert on women's rights from
the Indonesian Women's Association for Humanity.
She said police and judges had often sidelined rape victims.
"They ask victims embarrassing questions to make them look
like willing partners," she said. The officers often tried to
harass victims into giving confessions.
Nursyahbani said some judges and police even mocked victims
and made them feel guilty of provoking rape.
"If this mentality and misperception towards rape victims does
not change, all efforts to help the victims would be wasted," she
said.
Another factor which made rape victims reluctant to seek
justice was the legal requirement that a victim must report the
case immediately after the assault.
"This means that victims can't go to the doctor or clean
themselves, and this is difficult because they would normally
first go to doctors for help," Nursyahbani said.
Nursyahbani asked whether it was possible to amend legal
procedures for rape cases. "Let the victims get medical help or
clean themselves before they report to the police. This way they
can also equip themselves with medical reports," she said.
The Criminal Code's articles 285 and 289 on rape stipulate
that a case can only be categorized as rape if the victim has
been violently assaulted.
"The articles are too broad (for interpreting sexual abuse)
because rape doesn't necessarily mean assault, since the attacker
can use other means like drugs," she said.
Myra Diarsi, one of the activists, said repeated attacks
occurred because of the unbalanced position of women in society.
"Women have always been condemned as a victims. They don't
have equal rights to men," she said.
This is the core of the problem," Myra added. (12)