Suherdjoko, Semarang – Rape has topped the highest number of cases of violence against women in Central Java, director of the Semarang Legal Resources Center for Gender Justice and Human Rights (LRC-KJHAM), Evarisan said Monday.
In 12 months (from November 2008 to October 2009), according to Evarisan, the LRC-KJHAM Semarang had recorded at least 614 cases of violence against women in the province, 210 of which were rape cases. "The rape cases were committed by 338 perpetrators and five women were killed," Evarisan said.
She added that of the 614 recorded cases, 104 were based on reports made by the victims to the center and the remaining 510 cases were monitored by five print media, namely Kompas, Suara Merdeka, Jawa Pos, Wawasan and Solo Pos.
Domestic violence against women was the second-highest statistic with 149 victims. Of the victims, 16 were killed. Ranked third was violence related to love affairs, with 101 cases involving 126 perpetrators and 119 victims in which 13 of the victims were killed.
The fourth- and fifth-highest cases included violence against prostitutes, with 71 cases involving 343 victims, and violence against migrant workers with 44 cases involving 77 victims, 14 of whom died as a result of the violence.
In total, according to Evarisan, there were a total of 1,091 women who were both physically, psychologically and sexually abused, 48 of whom died because of sadistic violence, including being burnt and poisoned.
"We blame the lack of government protection as one of the main causes of violence," Evarisan said. She added the number of violations against women in Central Java in 2009 had increased by 37.7 percent from the previous year.
Based on crime statistics, Semarang municipality is ranked first among the province's 35 regencies and municipalities, with 120 cases of violence against women, followed by Surakarta with 30 cases and Kendal regency with 26 cases.
What is concerning, said Evarisan, was that of the 614 cases, only 22 had gone through the courts.
So far, she said, a rapist sentenced to 14 years by the Surakarta District Court was the most severe sentence so far, while the lowest sentence of six months was given to a domestic violence perpetrator by the Banyumas District Court.
Evarisan also highlighted that although various measures had been taken by the Central Java administration to promote services to victims of violence against women, there were still some structural obstacles.
Among the obstacles included discrimination by law enforcement officers and a lack of sufficient products, facilities and integrated service centers. "The quality of service, similarly, is also yet to meet high standards," she said.
Other problems, she added, included a lack of supporting policies to protect women, a limited budget, corruption and poor coordination among related institutions.