STOP VIOLENCE AGAINTS WOMAN AND CHILDREN

STOP VIOLENCE AGAINTS WOMAN AND CHILDREN
By : Tabrani Yunis

Stop violence against woman. It is an expression which is printed or written on a big poster hanging on the wall of an NGO. Every people who visit the office will read the poster. Expectedly or not, likes or dislikes, the poster will always send the message to the visitor. Undoubtedly, every people likes or dislikes will read this expression. It seems that it is very effective approach to campaign this issue for public. As we know that the expression which calls people to stop the violence toward woman on the poster. Poster, which provides short and deep message has been distributed by those organizations. Not only posters but also brochures and leaflets which describe and explain in a detail explanation of the violence cases, starting with the understanding of the violence, the types of the violence, and the strategies for stopping the violence can be easily found now. Besides, there are many organizations distributing stickers, banners etc for non-violence campaign. All of these efforts are aimed at giving warning for everyone to stop the violence, especially toward women. The efforts are not only verbal such as producing some messages on the posters, stickers, leaflets etc, but further to day more organizations such as women’s organizations or non-governmental organizations which concern on women’s issue and women’s right also run their advocacy work in an integrated program.

The expression “Stop the violence toward women” seems being more often found in some places and at any occasions. To day, more women activists, organizations such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), local, national and global struggle to stop the violence especially for women and children. They do various activities such as giving assistances through training activities, discussions, or other educational activities. Not only those, but also more activists and the NGOs, which concern and struggle for empowering and strengthening women, also actively do some campaign for stopping the violence toward women. Why women and children? There are some reasons that can be as the background of those activists and organizations work for women. One of the reasons is because women have been as the vulnerable groups. Vulnerable, is because in the reality, women and children are often becoming as the victims of the violence. Women and children become the object of the violence.

Believe it, or not. We can see this fact in some contexts, levels and scopes. In the context of conflict, political or armed conflict and war in every region or every country, women can be easily pulled into the conflict. Even they are never involved in making political decisions. Therefore, they are not as the actors of the conflict, but as the victims. Women who are not involved in creating the conflict have been being the victims in any political and armed conflict in the world. The armed conflict and political conflict are the calamity for women. Some facts show that women who live in the conflict area experienced the violence, such as rapping, sexual harassment, assassinated or killed, kidnapped, tortured, and even neglected divorcing, etc. Political and armed conflict in some places have caused more women become single parents who are very difficult to earn their lives since they were never prepared to face this reality. In this context, the actors of the violence are the state and those rebellions or the actors of the conflict from both sides. The prolonged political and armed conflict which lasted in Aceh for decades is a lesson learned for all of us. It is also as the mirror for reflecting the calamity of women and children in the conflict.

Now, when the political and armed conflict fade away and when the peace period is going on, the violence still exists. The indicators of this reality, that until to day we still can read various news about the violence on the news papers or also from other mass media. Ahmad Arief in his article in Kompas published on June 12,2006 quoted the statement of the head of the public relation of the Aceh police, Ajun Komisaris Besar Jodi Heriyadi stated that post MoU signed, many cases of rapping occurred in Aceh. From January until mid of May 2006 there are 11 cases of rape in Banda Aceh, Lhok Seumawe, North Aceh, Nagan Raya, until Sabang, which have been handled by the police. Another finding, the team of researchers of Syiah Kuala University with several independent consultants of the UNICEF found that the increasing number of rape cases toward children in the IDPs. Just in 2005, at the refugee’s camps in Nagan Raya, there were 7 cases of rape where 3 of them caused the pregnancy, which ended with the abortion.

Those findings above show that there are still many cases of violence experienced by the women and children in Aceh. Unfortunately, most of the domestic violence or domestic abuses seem to be hidden. There are some factors that make all these cases becoming hidden and unheard or unreported. The first factor is that the understanding of the people on what they mean with the violence. Most people think that when there is a quarrel or disputes in the family, which tend to fall into the domestic violence, other people out of the family cannot stop it. What they think that is not your business. It is my family’s business. Do not care what happens with my family. Therefore, sometime when is fatal, the problem becoming as the public responsibility. The second factor is that most of the domestic violence, which experienced by women can not be reported because women do not know where they should tell or report the cases. The problem is that women, the victims of the violence are afraid to tell it or report it to other people. Therefore, more women who have been victimized just chose keeping silent, facing it patiently. Women are afraid if they will be divorced by the husbands or they are afraid if the husbands will be angrier. The third, women will always be very shy to tell about the disputes of the quarrel to other people, even sometimes they are hurt. Unfortunately, women are also afraid if the law is not committed to them, because of cultural and society’s perspective which will always blame them. There are still many factors we can identify from the community.

As it is found in the serial or monthly discussions run by Center for Community Development and Education (CCDE) Banda Aceh, many kinds of domestic violence occur in their families such as slapping, biting, boxing, injuring, burning or other kind of torture and incest in the family or also the rapes. Even then it can kill the victims, etc. The violence does not happen only between husband and wife, but also toward children. Many cases such as hurting or beating happen where husband can easily slap his wife when he is angry or when he feels he is not satisfied with his wife’s services or vise versa. Or when they disputes and they quarrel, man can hurt and kill his wife or women sometimes can do the same thing.

In the discussions, women can describe and explain the household tragedy with other participants. But, poor they are, because they do not know how to escape from this tragedy. Therefore, since the cases of domestic violence and abuses happen any times and can hurt or kill any times, it needs a strong effort to stop violence toward women and children. The question is how to stop it ? We all agree to stop the violence toward women and children. There is no other reason, just one thing to do, “ Stop the violence”

Nowadays, many organizations and activists have been working hard to stop the violence or abuses against women and children. There are many rules produced, at local, regional and even in global context such as the convention made by the United Nation (UN), CEDAW etc. but the violence still goes on. Therefore, it is very important to have the affirmative actions for it. For organizations, which work in the grassroots, need to improve their services for the community, especially women. They need to give more explanation and learning process to bring women out of the violence and abuses. Can we do it? Why not? There are many ways to stop the violence. It depends very much on our commitment.