http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95254/INDONESIA-Struggling-to-survive-sexual-violence
INDONESIA: Struggling to survive sexual violence
Photo: Mark Wilson/IRIN
For Santi, staying quiet is the best option
JAKARTA, 10 April 2012 (IRIN) - Survivors of sexual violence in Indonesia face
an uphill battle in recovery as a result of an inadequate legal system, police
inaction, and prevailing societal attitudes that tend to be suspicious of
victims, say activists.
Survivors are often reluctant to come forward because of attitudes within the
family. Herna (not her real name), 27, was abused by her mother’s partner
between the ages of 9 and 16 but her family did not fully understand her
trauma. “I knew that what had happened to me was wrong,” she said. “I asked my
stepfather for an apology, but he never gave it. Instead, my mother said to me
that not everyone was perfect. After that, I left home for good.”
Santi (not her real name), 28, was molested by her swimming instructor when she
was 14 years old. “I didn’t say anything because I thought people would blame
me if I reported it,” she said. “Maybe they would say I shouldn’t have been in
the pool with that man. I never sought help. For years I didn’t even
acknowledge that it had happened to me and I had serious problems in
relationships afterwards.”
Indonesia is a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW),which aims to strengthen the human rights
of women, but the National Commission on Violence Against Women notes that
between 1998 and 2010 there were close to 94,000 cases of sexual violence
reported against women, including rape, trafficking of women for sexual
purposes, sexual harassment, sexual torture and sexual exploitation.
The commission also highlighted that 20 Indonesian women a day experienced
sexual violence, and in its annual notes, released in March 2012, reported some
4,335 cases of sexual violence in 2011 alone.
According to the Jakarta Police, in 2011 there were 1,787 cases of sexual
violence across Indonesia, around 2,500 cases less than those recorded by the
commission.
‘Archaic’ criminal code
The reasons for these numbers vary. In an October 2011 report submitted to the
UN CEDAW committee, the commission said sexual violence experienced by women
had yet to be fully recognized, and had not been given the handling and
attention victims required. Andy Yentriani, an official of the commission, told
IRIN that the Indonesian criminal code was archaic and could not properly deal
with sexual violence.
“It’s based on a system that is four centuries old,” said Yentriani. “Rape is
only understood as the insertion of male genitalia into female genitalia. Oral
sex or anal sex are off the radar. The law also does not recognize that rape
can be experienced by adult males.”
Barriers to reporting
Wulan Danoekoesoemo, the founder of Lentera Indonesia, an NGO survivor support
group based in the capital, Jakarta, spoke of the challenges faced by survivors
when reporting their ordeal.
“There’s very little immediate medical assistance for women in this country,”
she said. “Rape survivors… may want to get themselves medically checked within
24 hours to provide physical evidence, but that’s a challenge due to
bureaucracy, and because hospitals aren’t sensitive to the concerns of rape
survivors.”
‘Insensitive’ authorities
Photo: Mark Wilson/IRIN
A group of women wait for a minibus to take them home
After five high-profile cases of rape were reported on Jakarta’s public minibus
system and eight reports of sexual assault on the city’s main bus system in
2011, special women-only spaces on buses and trains were introduced.
Police spokesman Senior Commissioner Rikwanto explained how the police were
tackling the problem of sexual violence against women. “We’re patrolling in the
evening when workers are returning home and appealing to women to wear polite
and proper clothing in public.”
Neta Pane, coordinator of Indonesian Police Watch (IPW), an independent police
monitoring organization, said this attitude was undermining efforts to help
survivors.
“Women are being asked not to provoke sexual violence,” he said. “So if
something does happen, it’s the fault of the woman for not dressing properly.”
Pane pointed out that the maximum punishment for rape was 12 years, but
perpetrators mostly received sentences under a year.
Vitria Lazzarini, executive coordinator of the Pulih Foundation, a women’s
crisis centre in south Jakarta, said police attitudes toward survivors lacked
sensitivity.
“They ask whether she enjoyed it, what she was wearing at the time, and what
she was doing outside at that time of night. It’s completely inappropriate for
a woman who is suffering substantial trauma,” Lazzarini said.
“Women are also worried that police won’t believe their claims, and will make
them public,” said IPW coordinator Pane. “They are afraid that once people know
of their experience, they will be shunned. It’s a fear that we particularly see
in rural areas.”
‘Re-occurring theme’
Activists point to the need of a change in culture in Indonesia, and a shift in
the way men view and treat women.
Commission official Andy Yentriani said current attitudes were partly the
result of violence committed against women during Indonesia’s past conflicts in
Timor, Papua and Aceh, and in the widespread societal violence in 1998. This
was largely being ignored which had led to the image of women being tarnished.
“Violations against women are a re-occurring theme in Indonesia”, said
Yentriani. “Today they are not even mentioned in the national curriculum.”
mw/ds/he
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