Budget hike strengthens women

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Mon, 10/29/2007 4:38 PM

Eny Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The budget behind the 2004 Law on the Eradication of Domestic Violence has seen more women report cases of violence at home, said the National Commission on Violence Against Women.

The commission said there had been a ""massive increase"" in reports of domestic violence since 2003, which it said was thanks to a strong budget that had helped raise the public's awareness of domestic violence laws.

""Women are now becoming more aware that domestic violence is no longer a household matter, but a criminal one, and that there is a legal basis to take action,"" commission vice chairperson Ninik Rahayu said.

Data from the commission showed an increase of almost 200 percent in reported cases.

Some 7,787 cases were reported in 2003 and 14,020 cases in 2004.

The latest figures from 2006 showed some 22,512 cases of violence against women, with 7,020 occurring in Jakarta and 4,878 in Central Java.

Nining Rochadiat, assistant deputy for non-government organization affairs at the State Ministry for Women's Empowerment, said the law had become more effective because the government had shown a greater concern for the issue.

Nining said the increased budget to finance public awareness campaigns and to handle victims of violence was behind the result.

""In 2007, we provided around Rp 25 billion (US$2.74 million) for these programs, which are wholly managed by the state ministry,"" she said.

""We also allocated Rp 75 billion for all provinces to manage their own women's rights programs.

""But the amount varies depending on their provincial administration's proposal.""

The state ministry had allocated some Rp 650 million annually to 60 NGOs actively handling cases involving women and children.

Since 1998, the commission has established cross-sectoral cooperations between 258 government institutions and foundations.

Ninik said some government institutions, including religious courts, police, hospitals, and the Attorney General's Office, along with NGOs and other community-based organizations, had contributed to the collection of domestic violence data.

""We are now preparing protocols to assist judges at religious courts in handling domestic violence problems,"" she said.

Some community-based services carried out in affiliation with the commission were provided by the Mitra Perempuan Women's Crisis Center, which has included a free hotline since 1996.

""Women who have suffered from violence may call us free of charge,"" head of Mitra Perempuan Women's Crisis Center Rita Kolibonso said.

""Most women who make use of our service come from the lower class as we provide (the service) it for free.""

The foundation said it would action follow-ups based on complaints they received.

It would then provide volunteers to guide women through any legal processes and to help organize shelter and counseling.

Rita said the increase in reports of domestic violence cases had risen since 2004 because many women no longer felt afraid to let someone else know what had happened in their households, including sexual and physical abuses. (15)

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