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Knocking on the House's door: Victims, activists send flowers for the sexual violence bill
“Since the day you started discussing the sexual violence elimination bill, 10,000 more Indonesians have fallen victim to sexual violence. Protect our women and children. Pass the bill now!” one message reads.
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Flower boards stand in front of the House of Representatives building in Senayan in Central Jakarta on Sept. 6. The boards expressed messages from women activists, victims and family of victims about the urgency to pass the bill on the eradication of sexual violence. (JP/Anggie Angela)
“Since the day you started discussing the sexual violence elimination bill, 10,000 more Indonesians have fallen victim to sexual violence. Protect our women and children. Pass the bill now!” read the message sent to the House of Representatives in the form of a 2-square-meter flower board by an activist on Thursday.
Dozens of similar flower boards with bold messages from sexual abuse victims and victims’ families, from women’s rights activists and organizations have been appearing in front of the gate of the House in Senayan, Central Jakarta, since Thursday morning. The bold messages on the boards express the disappointment over House Commission VIII's slow work in deliberating the bill on the eradication of sexual violence.
Coordinator for the Service Provider Forum (FPL) for the female victims of violence, Veni Siregar, one of the lead activists who has long urged House members to pass the bill, said the flowers were sent by victims and activists from across Indonesia. They pitched in their own money to buy and send the flower boards to the House.
Some of the supporters who could not afford to buy the flower boards that can cost at least Rp 500,000 (US$35.47) per board, chose to buy cheaper bouquets and sent them directly to Commission VIII’s sexual violence bill working committee.
“We hope these flowers can act as reminders for House members to seriously deliberate the bill and to act on their promise to pass the bill before their term ends at the end of September,” Veni told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Lawmakers going to Morocco
Members of the House will receive flowers from the bill supporters until Monday because the Commission VIII members will fly to Morocco from Sept. 9 to 15 for a work visit related to the pesantren (Islamic boarding school) and religious education bill.
