RISING FROM OPPRESSIONEVERY April 21, Indonesia celebrates Kartini Day, in honor of the daughter of Jepara Re-

gent, Raden Mas Adipati Ario Sosroningrat. She was born in 1879 and died in 1904, devot-ing her adult life to the cause of women’s rights, especially the right to an education, which would place them on an equal footing with men. Yet today, more than 100 years later, many Indonesian women remain marginalized. Many still experience discrimination and vio-lence as a result of their respective cultures. But there is also much to be optimistic about. In North Central Timor regency, some of the women have become paralegals, strengthen-ing the the campaign to end violence against women. In South Central Timor, a group of the ‘new men’ has decided to join a women’s rights movement. Tempo English reports from Timor Island. T

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Development of Indonesia’s Outlying Areas

APRIL 24, 2016 | | I

Outreach

SUSANA Theresia Naisoko almost couldn’t help becoming emotional as she explained what happened to her neighbor back in November 2015. “She was beaten up so badly she had to be tak-

en to the hospital,” Susana told journalists at the base of the Alfa Group of Central Kefamenanu, North Central Timor regency.

The victim’s mother reached out to Santri—Su-sana’s nickname— for help in the wake of the beat-ing. The mother was the one who found her daugh-ter face down on the lawn, motionless, her body bathed in blood.

At the hospital, one nurse said it was unlikely the woman would survive. “Her body was in really bad shape,” Santri said. A local priest was summoned to

II | | APRIL 24, 2016

UNSCHOOLED ATTORNEYS FOR WOMEN

Outreach

Widespread violence against women and children in North Central Timor has given birth to village paralegal teams dedicated to protecting their rights.

OUTREACH TEAM

Project CoordinatorAmanda Siddharta

EditorsHermien Y. KledenPurwani Diyah Prabandari

WritersPurwani Diyah PrabandariIsma Savitri

PhotographerAgung Chandra

Design & LayoutAhmad Fatoni

administer the fi nal rites.To the surprise of many, the woman survived.

Several days later, the perpetrator of the vio-lence—the victim’s husband—was arrested. He had attempted to fl ee the district. The families of both parties agreed to reconcile, and the couple ‘re-united’.

“All legal proceedings were terminated,” Santri said, her eyes downcast. She said such heartbreak-ing tales of de facto impunity were widespread.

“We once helped a woman who was wounded badly by her husband who had used a sharp weap-on against her,” added Kanisius Nino, chair of the Kuanek village paralegal team.

He said the victim’s husband slashed her with a machete on the head and on the arm. “As a man, I

(L-R) THERESIA

NAISOKO (FROM

THE KLP ALFA

PARALEGALS),

MARIA DETILDA

AND RAISABATU,

(BOTH FROM THE

MAUBESI VILLAGE

PARALEGALS).

APRIL 24, 2016 | | III

cannot imagine how a husband could have com-mitted such a crime,” he added, wiping tears from his eyes. The abuser, he said, remained at large.

Maria Detilda Eko, 35, a paralegal from Maubesi, Central Insana subdistrict, relayed another, no less bitter story about a 14-year-old rape victim. When the teenager was seven months pregnant, her fam-ily went to the headquarters of the Maubesi para-legal team to seek help. Maria and her friends as-sisted the family in fi ling a report with the police. “The perpetrator was eventually arrested and sen-tenced to 15 years imprisonment,” Maria said.

■ ■ ■

SANTRI only holds a two-year associate’s de-gree. Maria, meanwhile, does not even have a high school diploma. And yet, despite their lack of legal credentials, their record of advocacy for victim’s of violence speaks for itself.

In 2012, in partnership with Oxfam Indonesia, Yabiku—otherwise known as the Care for Rural Women Foundation—recruited the two women to join a paralegal group to work against violence against women in the village.

Yabiku itself was founded in 2001 with a man-date to aid victims of domestic violence throughout East Nusa Tenggara province. “The vision is to help not only rural women but all marginalized women and children,” explained Yabiku Executive Direc-P

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tor Antonius Efi .According to Anton, the high rate of violence

against women was the main impetus for the pro-gram. He said 187 cases of violence have been re-corded in North Central Timor in the last three years, ranging from sexual harassment to domes-tic abuse.

The reasons for the high rate of violence were nu-merous, he said. Gender inequality is one big driv-er, as patriarchal norms are still dominant in the province. “However, the situation is shifting at present,” Anton said.

The common practice of paying the bride-price (belis) in the community also contributes to domes-tic violence, as it gives husbands a feeling of owner-ship over their spouses.

Poverty, however, is perhaps the biggest factor. In the long dry season, plentiful harvests are rare, driving up rates of unemployment.

Yabiku has approached village authorities in his quest to seek help promoting the paralegal team. “The important thing is that they have the spirit of volunteerism and are not themselves the actors of violence,” Anton said, adding that no tertiary edu-cation was required.

The program has been warmly received by lo-cals, and has begun to expand. Today, Yabiku man-ages 56 paralegals spread over 10 village groups. Backgrounds of members vary widely, ranging from common townsfolk to religious leaders.

After the teams were recruited, the volunteers were trained on how to handle victims’ needs, to mediate between confl icting parties, and to famil-iarize themselves with relevant laws. Reconcilia-tion is the preferred method of resolution.

“But in cases of sexual violence, especially when the victims are children, the case is immediately brought to the police, “ Anton said.

Each paralegal group has set up an offi ce for staff-members, which also doubles as a kind of safe house for victims who otherwise would have no-where to go.

PARALEGALS AT

KUANEK VILLAGE,

CENTRAL BIKOMI,

NORTH CENTRAL

TIMOR.

Outreach

IV | | APRIL 24, 2016

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To date, the 10 groups have helped many victims of violence. From February 2015 to February 2016, for example, the Alfa group resolved three big cas-es. The Maubesi team, meanwhile, have helped guide 16 cases to resolution since 2012.

■ ■ ■

SEVERAL of the paralegal volunteers, including Maria Datilda, have had to battle naysayers since the very beginning. “Many look at us with doubt, as many of us are only elementary school gradu-ates,” Maria said.

Families could also be unsupportive. Maria’s husband, a driver, at fi rst rejected his wife’s par-ticipation. “I told him, ‘You should be proud that I have been selected’.”

Traditional lines of authority present other chal-lenges. Before, villagers typically sought out the help of customary fi gures or village leaders who ‘demanded’ payment. “People had to cough up ‘ta-ble-money’ and also bring sopi,” Santri said, re-ferring to the local alcoholic beverage. “Only then would the problem be tackled.”

Most cases of domestic violence would end in reconciliation and fi nes paid, “depending on the severity of the incident,” Kanisius Nino said. If a victim was badly wounded, say, the fi ne could be a cow. For less severe crimes, the fi nes could be in the form of sopi.

Paralegal teams, however, offer their services free of charge. “Even if the victims have to be taken to the police or to the hospital,” said Anton.

One diffi culty is fi nding a witness willing to tes-tify after the matter becomes a police case. “People are afraid of getting involved,” Kanisius said. Such fear is compounded when the suspect is related to an infl uential fi gure, or a policeman or soldier.

Lack of funds is yet another challenge. “At the po-lice or the hospital we have no expenditures, but to get there we need cash,” Maria Detilda said. Though transportation is reimbursed, mostly paralegals have to pay such expenses out of pocket.

Some villages have set aside small funds for the program. “We allocate Rp750,000 for six months,” said Andreas Elu, the Kuanek village head. “But that’s only for dissemination, not for costs that emerge during the case.”

By and by, the paralegals have become increas-ingly adept at assisting victims of violence, and preventing future abuses. “I threaten to take per-petrators to Yabiku if they don’t cooperate,” Khata-rina Son, a paralegal, said. “And it works. They are afraid,” she added.

Encouraging signs have come from the district government and the local House of Representa-tives (DPRD). “We are now advocating for regula-tions,” said Maria Filiana Tahu, a lawmaker on Commission D, which oversees economic affairs.

“We expect that by the third meeting this year, the bill will have been passed,” she said. ■

PARALEGALS IN

KUANEK DURING

A DISCUSSION

WITH

JOURNALISTS.

KHATARINA

SON (RIGHT),

A PARALEGAL

IN KUANEK,

NORTH CENTRAL

TIMOR (BOTTOM

PICTURE).

APRIL 24, 2016 | | V

YANDRI Ome tried hard to remember a song once popularized by the Ungu Band. “It’s a song about repentance,” he recalled. A resident of Tuafanu village in the regen-cy of South Central Timor, East Nusa Teng-

gara, Yandri said the song had helped him change his ways. “I used to do really bad things,” he admitted. “Basically, I simply did not respect women.”

By his own admission, Yandri used to treat wom-en as mere second-class citizens. Late last February he met with Tempo English with some other jour-nalists in Soe, the capital of South Central Timor and expounded upon his transformation.

“After I learned about the ‘New Men’ movement, I changed my ways,” he said. When he got married, he said, he did not think it beneath him to help out with the laundry, dishwashing, and the other tasks traditionally derided as women’s work.

Gradually, the 32-year-old farmer began spread-

ing his newfound outlook. “Violence against wom-en is still high here, including violence against wives,” said the man who now works with the Club for the Voice of Women (Sanggar Suara Perem-puan—SSP), a non-profi t that assists women and children victims of violence in South Central Timor.

Amos Talan is another such convert. This resi-dent of Nunusunu village in Kualin subdistrict has also pronounced himself a ‘new man’.

“Since 2009, I have been going to the villages to run discussions on gender equality,” the 46-year-old farmer said.

Amos said, ‘walking the talk’ was key. At home, he said he always helped his wife with the laundry and dishwashing. “And when there is a guest, I am the one who makes the tea.” Sometimes, he pounds rice on the front lawn to make a show of his com-mitment to equality. “I do that on purpose, so that

The ‘New Men’ Movement is spreading in South Central Timor to end violence against women by promoting the idea of gender equality among men.

THE NEW MEN MOVEMENT

PEOPLE ARE

READY TO

PARTISIPATE IN

THE WORKSHOP

ON NEW MEN

MOVEMENT AT

THE SANGGAR

SUARA

PEREMPUAN

IN SOE, SOUTH

CENTRAL TIMOR.

Outreach

VI | | APRIL 24, 2016

people can see,” he said.His four sons, he said, have learned to respect

their womenfolk. “I taught them to not expect women to do eveything for them,” he said. “I tell them, ‘just do it yourself’.”

■ ■ ■

YANDRI Ome and Amos Talan are two of a hand-ful of men who have joined the New Men Movement that seeks to promote the idea of gender equality among men in South Central Timor.

The movement was launched six years ago when the SSP began to collaborate with Oxfam and an-other organisation named Rifka Annisa. At the time the Alliance of New Men was spreading in In-donesia.

“Since it was a new approach, we fi rst did ca-pacity-building to understand the concept of ‘new men’, and to design a module,” said Juliana Ndolu, Oxfam’s coordinating partner for gender equality.

The SSP itself has long been involved in issues of anti-discrimination and against violence against women since 1992, when the organization was still called the Timor Women Forum.

According to John Bolla, head of the coordinating division for group organizing and advocacy, dis-crimination against women is not limited to the do-mestic sphere. “It occurs in education, in social af-fairs and in the economy, just to mention a few of other areas,” John said. The main reason, he said, was cultural resistance to change. “Here in South Central Timor people still cling strongly to patriar-chy.”

The practice of families paying a dowry for their sons to marry also creates a social system where women are treated poorly. Yandri said that once, when he reprimanded a friend for beating his wife, the friend’s rejoinder was that it was his ‘right’ be-cause he had ‘paid the bride-price’.

SSP noted that in 2015, there were 113 cases of vi-olence against women. Of that fi gure, 53 were cas-es of sexual violence (47 percent), 28 cases (25 per-cent) of domestic violence, and 22 cases (21 per-cent) of physical abuse. Many of the cases, howev-er, went unreported.

In addition to a patriarchal culture, poverty plays a big role in the perpetuation of gender inequality. “The per capita income is just Rp6 million,” South Central Timor Regent Paul V.R. Mella said. The av-erage Indonesian income last year, meanwhile, is Rp41 million.

■ ■ ■

THE Sanggar Suara Perempuan was only able to establish seven groups in the village out of the 230 villages and kelurahan (urban village subdi-visions) in South Central Timor. “On average, one group consists of 20 men,” John Bolla said.

Two-hour discussion sessions were held on what constitutes being a good husband. “How can you be a role model if you beat up your wife and get drunk?” John said. “We spread the notion that a real man does not commit violence.”

Attracting men to the program was not easy. “The program challenges their comfort zone, where they have lived for a long time ,” John explained.

THE SANGGAR

SUARA

PEREMPUAN

TEAM IN A

DISCUSSION

WITH

JOURNALISTS IN

SOE.

APRIL 24, 2016 | | VII

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Indeed, opposition was never far away. Amos, for example, said neighbors often ridiculed him for pounding the corn, even deriding his children for allowing him to ‘stoop so low’.

However, he said the new consciousness had tak-en root and the men were not going to be so easily derailed by their detractors.

The group has tried various strategies to attract new members, one of which was to recruit young people from churches and other organizations. “We want them to have the information before they get married,” John said.

Another strategy was approaching motorcycle- taxi drivers and bus drivers. “The thinking was they could help spread the information to their passengers,” said Filpin Taneo-Therik, SSP deputy director.

Success, however, was limited in the early days, Filpin said. Informal discussions on a broader range of issues became the strategy of choice. “The important thing is that the discussion materials can include anything,” Filpin said.

Fortunately for the SSP, the South Central Timor district government decided to support the move-ment. “Child protection and gender equality be-came a special focus,” said Paul Mella, who is mar-ried to SSP Director Rambu Atanau Mella.

The South Central Timor government and the re-gional House of Representatives (DPRD) have passed several regulations in line with the SSP mission.

“For example, a regulation has been passed for the protection of women and children, and also one on reproductive health,” Paul Mella said.

All things considered, gender-equality promo-tion among South Central Timor men has grown by leaps and bounds, with 13 groups currently active in the region.

Women have begun to reap the benefi ts. “There are some women who are now ready to run for the position of village head,” John said, proving that women now play a more visible role in public af-fairs. In the South Central Timor DPRD, for exam-ple, women account for 12.5 percent of sitting law-makers. ■

AMOS TALAN

(CENTER), AN

ACTIVIST OF

THE NEW MEN

MOVEMENT IN

NUNUSUNU

VILLAGE, SOUTH

CENTRAL TIMOR.

YANDRI OME AT

THE SANGGAR

SUARA

PEREMPUAN

OFFICE.

Outreach

VIII | | APRIL 24, 2016

MARIANA AMIRUDDIN, COMMISSIONER, NATIONAL COMMISSION ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

B ESIDES its increasing numbers, vio-lence against women is taking on a broader pattern. The National Com-mission Against Violence Against Women has observed this change

through several of their studies. The Commission noted that violence happens in households as well as within the general public.

For example, in 2015, some 321,752 cases of vio-lence—mostly physical—against women were re-corded in people’s homes. This differed from the previous year when in addition to the physical, there was also psychological violence. In commu-nities, sexual violence is still predominent: about 61 percent out of 5,002 cas-es.

Mariana Amiruddin, who is chairperson of the Public Participation Sub-Commission of the Na-tional Commission on Vi-olence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), said that the movement to bring change and gen-der justice in Indonesia must keep on upgrad-ing itself. It should, at the same time, be balanced by non-discriminatory state policies. “Without a movement for change, gender justice is not like-ly to happen,” said Mari-ana. Two weeks ago, she spoke to Tempo English reporter Isma Savitri on the subject. Excerpts:

What exactly are the causes of violence against women in Indonesia?

Gender injustice hap-pens because of our culture. Men and women ini-tially started on an equal basis, but culture forced them to become unequal. Men also felt pressured by a society which forces them to be ‘superman’.

What do you mean? Men also undergo negative experience due to

this gender injustice. As small boys, some of them may have been victims of violence in their homes, or witnessed their fathers hitting their mothers.

This doesn’t benefi t anyone.Will this create a movement of men protecting

women?Yes, but we also notice that those involved in

such movements are mostly artists, or they are men who no longer work and are no longer all-powerful.

We came across a group of men who were neither artists nor unemployed in the island of Timor.

Judging by recent years, men are indeed get-ting more involved in the efforts to fi ght violence against women. This is a refl ection of men’s con-viction that this is their problem too.

What is your view about this movement?So long as it’s not an ex-clusive program, involv-ing only men, of course it should be good, because the fi nal objective is a feminist movement.

Which places in Indone-sia have the highest num-ber of violence against women?

The accepted cause of violence is still the same, and that’s the patriarchal system. But the traits dif-fer from one region to the next. According to our data, Eastern Indonesia has the highest cases of violence against women. In bigger cities like Jakar-ta, women have begun to advance and oppose pa-triarchy.

So, what would be the right strategy to fi ght it?

The male approach is needed but women’s empowerment should not lag behind. The two

should move together. There are still many illiter-ate women who only have low-level education.

But aren’t there many organizations already work-ing on that?

Non-governmental organizations supporting women face diffi culties because they are always running out of funds. My own critical view is that the men’s movement should never be allowed to betray the women’s movement. ■ T

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GENDER INJUSTICE IS A LOSS FOR EVERYONE