Don’t ignore silent pleas for help

The Jakarta Post, Monday, January 9, 2006

I once saw a mother screaming at her small boy at a shopping center in South Jakarta. The boy’s tears seemed only to incense the mother, and her ranting became louder and more unbearable.

I, however, the jerk that I am, just stared at her rudeness and walked away. It was her own problem, I thought, it’s none of my business.

How many times since then have I regretted my decision to ignore the little boy’s tears. How many times have I wanted to give myself a good slap on the face for being so callous!

As chairman of the National Commission for Child Protection, Seto Mulyadi, said, whenever you see a case of child abuse, “you have to make it your business!”

Children continue to be at the receiving end of physical, sexual and psychological abuse, as well as physical exploitation to get income, be it at home, school, on the street or in places such as orphanages, detention centers and so on.

So it is important that relationships between neighbors are close, and that the role of the community and neighborhood units are strengthened, Seto said, explaining that only then would people be able to notice when a neighbor behaves in a different manner.

“If you see a mother being stressed out, don’t just stay silent, otherwise she will only lash out at those closest to her, who are usually her children. Reach out and help,” he said.

Children in this country are protected by Child Protection Law, so whenever you see a child being abused, don’t hesitate to call:

* National Commission for Child Protection hotline: 021-877 91818

* Police Women’s Desk at the City Police Headquarters: 021-523 433

Child abuse up, mothers to blame

The Jakarta Post, Monday, January 9, 2006

A woman in Tangerang, Banten, was sentenced to five years in jail for torturing her five-year-old daughter, and another mother was accused of burning her two small children, also in Tangerang.

Meanwhile, in a house in Cilincing, North Jakarta, seven-year-old Eka Rosiana was found strangled to death.

Child abuse is nothing new, but there seems to have been a marked increase in the number and severity of the crimes.

The National Commission for Child Protection alone saw a 67 percent increase in the number of child abuse reports to the commission in 2005 compared to the previous year.

“The number of child abuse cases has indeed increased recently, and the cases have also been more sadistic in nature,” the commission’s chairman Seto Mulyadi told The Jakarta Post recently.

Sexual abuse remained the most common form of abuse against children reported to the commission, with 327 cases, comprising over 44 percent of all cases during 2005, an increase of 48 percent compared to the previous year.

Physical abuse increased 66.4 percent to 233 cases in 2005 compared to 140 cases the previous year, while psychological abuse increased 120 percent to 176 cases from 80 cases in 2004.

Even more shocking was the fact that about 80 percent of the abuse was done by the mother of the child.

“Either in the name of discipline to teach obedience, or for reasons of stress, more than 80 percent of the cases we’ve found were done by the child’s mother,” Seto said.

Child abuse is often linked to cultural values as a necessary part of teaching a child discipline and obedience.

The problem was, according to Seto, that people still consider children as the property of their parents, who can therefore treat their children as they see fit.

And this problem is not exclusive to those with low incomes.

“Children of well-to-do parents often become victims of their parents’ personal ambition. Many are forced to achieve high ranks at school, or even to become child celebrities against their wishes,” Seto said.

As household problems become more complicated, and life more difficult, stress factors come into play. And children still dependent on their parents are often easy targets when emotion takes over from common sense.

The woman who was sentenced to five years in jail by the Tangerang district court, for example, was there because she used to beat her five-year-old daughter. She used to pinch her genitals, and pull out her teeth using a pair of pliers, all because she blamed the girl for her husband leaving the family two years ago.

Siblings Indah Nopitasari, 3-years old, and Lintar Saputra, 11-months old, are now at the Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Central Jakarta with severe burns caused when their mother set fire to them after becoming angry at her drunk husband on New Year’s Eve.

Seto believes that strengthening relationships within the neighborhood will help prevent child abuse.

“At the moment, our community and neighborhood units are weak; neighbors stay silent even when they see a child being abused by his parents,” he said.

“When a neighbor shows signs of stress, it is wrong just to pretend nothing is the matter. They think it’s none of their business. They’re wrong! It is their business; neighbors should care about each other”.

Which was why on Woman’s Day on Dec. 21, 2005, the commission together with the office of the Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare proclaimed 2006 as Stop Child Abuse Year.

“Jakarta Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo has agreed to make Jakarta our pilot project,” Seto said, explaining that the commission will cooperate with the Family Welfare Organization (PKK) to raise awareness of child abuse.

More people aware that domestic violence against women illegal

The Jakarta Post, Friday, January 6, 2006

In a face-saving society, most women would rather die than admit that their husbands beat them — and many women have.

However, thanks to the courageousness of TV drama stars Five Vy and Novia Ardhana, as well as popular presenter Dewi Hughes — all of whom made headlines last year in connection with domestic violence — more and more people are becoming aware that violence within the home, like all crimes, is punishable by law.

“These celebrity cases, widely reported by the media, have helped open people’s eyes,” the head of the Jakarta chapter of non-governmental organization Legal Aid Society for Women (LBH-APIK), Ratna Batara Munti, said on Thursday.

She said that a year after the enactment of Law No. 23/2000 on the eradication of domestic violence, there were increased reports of abuse, particularly domestic violence, at her office.

The increase, however, did not mean that there was increased violent activity, rather that more people were willing to report abuse, she said.

The NGO said that 1,046 cases in Jakarta were reported throughout 2005 compared with only 817 cases the previous year, with domestic violence making up the biggest share at 314 cases.

“The increased number of domestic violence cases coming in through the LBH-APIK shows that women are becoming more aware that domestic violence is a crime and no longer something shameful to be hidden away,” Ratna said.

Further proof of this is the fact that more law enforcers are willing to take seriously and make reports about cases of domestic abuse, no longer considering them private matters between husband and wife.

“Law enforcers no longer refuse to write up a complaint report like they used to, nor do they try to dismiss the case unless it was the victim who decided to drop the charges,” Ratna said.

Despite this headway, however, a number of problems must be overcome before domestic violence against women can be totally eradicated.

Many police officers still prefer to lay charges under the Criminal Code on abuse rather than the law on domestic violence, which allows, among other things, the victim’s statement to confirm an act of crime, allows medical records to prove an act of crime, and names sexual violence in the home — as opposed to sexual violence in the commercial sphere, such as the rape of sex workers or the trafficking of women — as a crime.

This, together with fears of stigma, contributes to the fact that of the 314 cases of domestic violence last year, only 19 cases were reported to the police, and only eight were tried using the Domestic Violence Law.

“There are concerns over who will take care of the family should the father be jailed, that the children will be teased because they have a father who is a criminal, as well as fears of retaliation when he gets out of jail,” Ratna said.

On the side of the victims themselves, many prefer to file for divorce as a solution to stop the violence rather than reporting the actor to the police.

“This goes to show the criminal court has yet to make victims feel secure about its proceedings, they prefer to take their case to the civil court instead,” Ratna said.