Nurfika Osman – A seminar tasked with advising policy makers on domestic violence has stressed the need for victims to be given easier access to justice.

"They should be given fast, simple and free-of-charge access to their rights in civil and criminal cases, and protection during every step of the [legal] process," Ninik Rahayu, the deputy chairwoman of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), said on Monday.

The commission, along with academics, NGOs, officials from the National Police, Attorney General's Office and Supreme Court, opened a two-day seminar on Monday that is expected to produce recommendations that will be sent to policy makers.

Difficulties in accessing justice, according to the commission, makes many victims reluctant to file complaints and risk exposure to more harm.

"They are therefore doubly victimized," said Deliana Sayuti Ismudjoko, head of the commission's law and policy division. "The country's bureaucratic system only creates more difficulties for them."

She said domestic violence victims had to go through too many processes, which required a lot of time and money, in order to attain justice from the judicial system.

"This strongly suggests that institutions in the country are gender biased [against the victims]," Ismudjoko said.

Since the country endorsed the Law on Domestic Violence in 2004, institutions have been adjusting their systems in order to address women's issues. For example, all police offices nationwide are supposed to have a special unit to handle any cases involving women and children.

"But many [public] institutions lack the facilities and funds to provide more specialized support for women and children," Ismudjoko said. "Thus, we need to create a recommendation whereby the policy makers create and support a gender-sensitive policies," she added.

She also said that the Attorney General's Office lacks the funds to help women victims process their cases. "As a result, women are reluctant to look to the courts as a solution in the cases they are facing," Ismudjoko said.

Reported cases of domestic violence involving women rose 113 percent between 2007 and 2008, from 25,522 cases in 2007 to 54,425 in 2008.