Violence against women on rise in Indonesia: Report

By Shenny Fierdha and Chandni Vasandani

JAKARTA, Indonesia

The national commission on violence against women in Indonesia has recorded an increase in gender-based violence, with 348,446 reported cases in 2017.

In a report released on Wednesday, the commission said there was a 25 percent rise in such violence compared with 2016 that saw 259,150 cases.

Speaking at a news conference in capital Jakarta held on International Women’s Day, commission member Mariana Amiruddin said the rise may not necessarily indicate an "increase in cases of violence against women, but [it could] show that more victims are more willing to come forward and report when they face abuse.”

The study revealed that Indonesian women most frequently face abuse behind closed doors, in the form of domestic violence and dating violence, which accounts for 71 percent of cases.

Of the reported cases in a private setting, 41 percent involved physical abuse, 31 percent sexual abuse, 15 percent psychological abuse and 13 percent economic abuse.

Among the 26 percent of violence cases occurring in a public setting, most took place in schools, places of work and neighborhoods.

“They are usually in the form of molestation as there were 911 reports of that, 708 cases of sexual harassment, and 669 instances of rape,” Amiruddin said.

The commission said that a rise in these numbers shows decreasing safety for girls and women in multiple environments.

This is especially reflected in the close relationship between the victims and abusers, who are often family members, friends (1,106 cases) and neighbors (863 cases).

Moreover, while the commission received 91 reports of cybercrime against women, it said Indonesian women still lack the tools to report such instances and pointed out inadequate steps to handle such cases.

“All of these factors contribute to women feeling unsafe in the cyberspace. Cyber-violence affects the lives of women who are often victimized more than once and can affect them, their entire lives," the commission report said.

The commission, which is locally known as the Komnas Perempuan, said Indonesia does not have a system in place to effectively prevent gender-based violence and handling of these cases often move at snail’s pace.

It urged the Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection to strictly enact domestic violence laws and ensure justice and protection for the victims.

“The government has to prioritize protection of the victims and uphold human rights principles in drafting laws to abolish sexual violence in Indonesia,” it added.