Yara Murray-Atfield – Victims of gender-based violence are more aware of their rights, but work is still being done to ensure women feel more protected by domestic violence laws.

The Law Against Domestic Violence (LADV) was passed in July 2010, and was the first law to make gender-based violence a public crime.

MP Maria Ludes Bessa, member of the parliamentary women's group Grupo da Mulheres Parlamentares de Timor-Leste (GMPTL), said the law is a "very positive thing". "The law makes domestic violence a public crime, so what I have been seeing is more cases before the court."

Director of the East Timorese Women's Communication Forum (FOKUPERS) Marilia Da Silva Alves said the introduction of the Law meant families were more confident reporting issues.

"After the laws were approved, we saw that in the districts and Dili, domestic violence reported to FOKUPERS and also to the police has risen," she said. "The victims are more aware of their rights, because they know there are laws for this, and they have more trust of the police."

Homicide, physical abuse, sexual assault, abuse of a minor, torture and mistreatment of a spouse all became public crimes under the Law. Since 2010, the Secretary of State for the Promotion of Equality, GMPTL and several other groups have run campaigns to socialise the law.

A FOKUPERS survey from June 2012 found more than 80 per cent of participants were familiar with the term 'domestic violence', and nearly 75 per cent had heard of the LADV.

However, only half of those who had heard of domestic violence thought it was necessary to report it, whether it occurred in their own home or in someone else's.

"They interpret it as a family problem, that isn't good to bring out into the public," Da Silva Alves said. "They just seek help from their family, but they don't report the cases."

According to FOKUPERS, of 764 cases of domestic violence in 2007-2012, 554 of the perpetrators or suspects were the husbands of the victims. "They try to get things solved within the family, when the perpetrator is in the family," MP Bessa said. "That is a big concern, and those things should not be happening."

Women are often afraid of being unable to support themselves financially if they leave their husbands. Case studies tell stories of women who stay with their husband for decades due to the fear of leaving.

"Victims come to us with the minimum. They have nothing; they don't have money to send their children to school," Da Silva Alves said. "They depend on their husband, and sometimes they are afraid that if they report the cases, nobody will take care of them and look after their family."

Thanks to awareness campaigns and education in schools and workplaces, the stigma surrounding victims of domestic violence is beginning to lessen.

Da Silva Alves said the court wait times for domestic violence cases have been reduced since the LADV was passed in 2010.

"We are happy to see that many of the domestic violence cases are brought to the court, but the problem is the final outcome is often a suspended sentence," Judicial System Monitoring Program Executive Director Luis de Oliveria Sampaio said.

Article 62 of Timor-Leste's penal code states the court should always give preference to a penalty "that does not involve deprivation of liberty" where it is available.

If the punishment "adequately and sufficiently fulfills the purpose of the penalty", Article 62 encourages courts to avoid handing down prison sentences. "Sometimes victims feel the decision is not satisfactory," Da Sliva Alves said. "Because with some cases they are injured very, very badly, but all they do is apply the suspended sentence."

From 2010-2013 JSMP observed 352 cases of domestic violence. They found 71 per cent of defendants were charged with 'simple offences against physical integrity'.

This offence falls under Article 145 of the penal code, and is considered domestic violence if it occurs within a family context. Cases with psychological impact such as threats and murder do not fall into the category of domestic violence.

"Only when victims lose their hands or a part of their body, or when they lose a very important organ or die, they decide to accuse them of a serious crime," Sampaio said. "In some aspects, people do not see a difference between before and after the law was implemented," he said.

Politicians see the higher numbers of official court reporting and court cases as a sign the socialisaton of the Law is beginning to work. "It is very interesting that judges have been applying strong sentences for those who commit crimes against women and children," MP Bessa said.

"Socialising the law, going around the districts, explaining, talking about it, how it should be implemented, I think it's really important that work continues."

Although the higher rates of reporting show awareness being raised, domestic violence is still occurring. FOKUPERS' shelter in Dili only has the capacity for 25 people, yet 40 to 50 women and children live there monthly, unable to return home or to family.

"It's a struggle," Da Silva Alves said. "Sometimes with this issue the women's families don't support them. They have many children, and they have to live with it. Sometimes you see the survivors that don't survive."

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/gender/12568-protecting-women-from-gender-based-violence