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Jakarta Post

One Billion Rising Dancing for a cause

Dance and rise: Hundreds of people dance to raise public awareness about gender-based violence against women at the National Monument (Monas) complex in Central Jakarta

Meghan Downes (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sun, February 2, 2014

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One Billion Rising Dancing for a cause Dance and rise: Hundreds of people dance to raise public awareness about gender-based violence against women at the National Monument (Monas) complex in Central Jakarta. The dance, held as part of the One Billion Rising global campaign last year, will be held again this year on Feb. 14. (JP/P.J. Leo)" border="0" height="333" width="500">Dance and rise: Hundreds of people dance to raise public awareness about gender-based violence against women at the National Monument (Monas) complex in Central Jakarta. The dance, held as part of the One Billion Rising global campaign last year, will be held again this year on Feb. 14. (JP/P.J. Leo)

Valentine’s Day will certainly be different this year.

On the day when love is celebrated, hundreds of young people will gather at public sites across the country, including at the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta.

However, they will certainly not be exchanging flowers or chocolates. Rather, they will be dancing in a worldwide flash-mob to reject violence against women.

According to UN data, one in three women will be raped or beaten in their lifetime, that is, around
1 billion women.

The appalling statistic has sparked a global campaign to end violence against women, rise for justice and promote gender equality, through dance.

With the motto, “Strike, dance, rise”, the movement aims to advance the cause of gender equality in new and creative ways.

Last year, along with millions of people throughout 217 countries, hundreds of Indonesian participants danced together, raising public awareness about the gender-based violence so many women continue to face, both within Indonesia and globally.

This year, on Feb. 14, they will do it all again, to reinforce the message and express solidarity with victims of violence.

“The message we want to send this year is all about justice, and reaching out to victims. Through the dance, we’re saying, ‘you are not alone, because we will stand beside you and fight for justice for you and all victims of violence’,” explained the organizers.

According to founders of One Billion Rising Indonesia, current systems of reporting domestic violence and sexual violence in Indonesia, as well as support and protection for victims, are woefully inadequate.

(JP/P.J. Leo)

D

span class="inline inline-none">Dance and rise: Hundreds of people dance to raise public awareness about gender-based violence against women at the National Monument (Monas) complex in Central Jakarta. The dance, held as part of the One Billion Rising global campaign last year, will be held again this year on Feb. 14. (JP/P.J. Leo)

Valentine'€™s Day will certainly be different this year.

On the day when love is celebrated, hundreds of young people will gather at public sites across the country, including at the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta.

However, they will certainly not be exchanging flowers or chocolates. Rather, they will be dancing in a worldwide flash-mob to reject violence against women.

According to UN data, one in three women will be raped or beaten in their lifetime, that is, around
1 billion women.

The appalling statistic has sparked a global campaign to end violence against women, rise for justice and promote gender equality, through dance.

With the motto, '€œStrike, dance, rise'€, the movement aims to advance the cause of gender equality in new and creative ways.

Last year, along with millions of people throughout 217 countries, hundreds of Indonesian participants danced together, raising public awareness about the gender-based violence so many women continue to face, both within Indonesia and globally.

This year, on Feb. 14, they will do it all again, to reinforce the message and express solidarity with victims of violence.

'€œThe message we want to send this year is all about justice, and reaching out to victims. Through the dance, we'€™re saying, '€˜you are not alone, because we will stand beside you and fight for justice for you and all victims of violence'€™,'€ explained the organizers.

According to founders of One Billion Rising Indonesia, current systems of reporting domestic violence and sexual violence in Indonesia, as well as support and protection for victims, are woefully inadequate.

(JP/P.J. Leo)
(JP/P.J. Leo)

'€œUnfortunately, victims tend to be blamed for bringing the assault upon themselves. In many cases, the victims themselves are punished, rather than the perpetrators. Because of this, countless victims choose to remain silent and a huge proportion of cases go unreported,'€ says Dhyta Caturani, a women'€™s rights activist and member of One Billion Rising Indonesia.

Activists like Dhyta believe this simply exacerbates the problem and perpetuates a cycle of shame and silence.

In order to increase awareness about these issues, One Billion Rising Indonesia is also holding a series of public activities in the lead-up to the flash-mob dance next month.

One such activity was the recent public screening of Pertaruhan (At Stake), a film documenting a wide range of hardships, discrimination and violence faced by women throughout Indonesia.

The screening was followed by a VDialogue discussion, which focused on various myths and facts about violence against women, with an aim to dispel stigma and counter the dominant culture of victim blaming.

While One Billion Rising is a global movement, each nation involved brings its own specific concerns to the event. In India, for instance, support for last year'€™s dance soared as a show of protest against the shocking fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old student in Delhi.

Last year in Indonesia, many participants took aim at high court judge Muhammad Daming Sunusi, who had joked during vetting for a Supreme Court position that women might enjoy rape.

This year is no exception, with local activists pointing to continued sexist behaviors and remarks by public figures, as well as recent high-profile sexual assault cases, such as the case involving literary figure Sitok Srengenge as examples of the continued threats facing women in Indonesia.

According to Dhyta, violence against women is reaching alarming levels.

The 2013 reports from the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) show increasing incidences of violence against women, she added.

'€œWe know this is just a fraction of the cases as many go unreported. This is why campaign activities like this are important,'€ Dhyta says.

Organizers hope that by holding a wide variety of public activities, including discussions, film screenings and of course the flash-mob dance, they can attract public interest and unite people behind their anti-violence campaign, ultimately pressuring the government to do more to protect women from violence.

'€œLast year was really amazing,'€ says Dhyta.

With only one month'€™s preparation, she said the event was held in a bit of a rush, but over 500 people had come to dance at Monas.

'€œThe best part was seeing so many men involved, both as participants and as organizers. There was a great mix of people '€“ the event wasn'€™t dominated by activists but was instead filled with everyday members of the general public. We really hope that this year the message spreads even further, and reaches the whole community.'€

The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post.

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