The Jakarta Post
Amid insufficient safe reporting and legal mechanisms, Indonesia has seen an increasing number of reported cases of violence against women and children during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Legal Aid Foundation of the Indonesian Women’s Association for Justice (LBH APIK) said it had received 1,178 reports of violence against women and children in 2020, a spike from 794 reported cases in 2019 and 837 in 2018. Of last year's cases, 1,080 were reported from March -- when Indonesia announced its first COVID-19 cases and started imposing measures to contain the outbreak -- to November, according to LBH APIK, one of few leading organizations in Indonesia that focus on women's rights advocacy, including for victims of violence. Domestic violence made up the largest share of the cases with 418 cases, an increase from 249 cases in 2019, followed closely by online gender-based v...