Stop Sudah English-revised-March2012 - International Center for ...

While beating me on the street, he . . . pulled my hand to take me into the house and into the bedroom. He locked
the door, then kicked me in the hip . . . [He] held a screwdriver . . . stabbed me, and fortunately hit my hand and
broke the skin. After that, [my husband] ordered me to take off all my clothes: shirt, pants, ordered me to get
naked . . . and he raped me. After I was raped, he told me to wash off the blood outside while naked without even a
piece of cloth to cover [my] body. Luckily no one was at home that night . . . After I washed off the blood, he pulled
me inside again and ordered me to go to sleep . . . I was still bleeding, really hurt, [so that] I could not sleep [and]
at 5:00 [in the morning] I ran away to my parents’ home. Fortunately [my husband] was sound asleep so I
could get away. 83
2.3. Police Do Not Protect Women Victims of Domestic Violence
The Documentation Team found another important thing about domestic violence that relates to reporting
and handling of cases. Only some of the documented cases had been reported to the other parties, such as
to the church, a husband’s supervisor or commanding officer (both in business and the military), NGOs
that support victims, traditional leaders, or the government. Among reported cases, most were reported to
the police, but were not handled or settled well. The Documentation Team noted at least 20 cases of
domestic violence where reporting to the police did not produce anything as reflected in the following
examples.
One proof that the police are reluctant to handle cases of domestic violence is a written statement the
perpetrator makes at the police station promising that he will no longer act violently. This statement does
not have any legal value or bring meaningful change. For example, for a long time a wife (Su) was beaten by
her husband, a man who also often had affairs. In November 2008, Su reported about her husband’s
beatings to the police, “but it was not processed further.” The only thing done was a statement that if a
problem arose again and the husband did not give the wife his salary, the wife could again take action
against her husband. 84 Another woman said her husband once made a statement (which is still at the office
of the Military Police) that he would not cheat again, but he continued having affairs. 85 Reluctance or delay
by the police in taking action when cases of domestic violence are reported to them makes the wives feel
that the police side with their husbands. In 2006, another case was reported to the Papua Police in Jayapura,
but was withdrawn when the husband, a police officer, made a statement in which he promised not to
commit violence again. A few months later, the perpetrator was again violent, but the victims did not report
it until 2009, when she got a death threat. 86
The experience of a woman victim of domestic violence in Wamena illustrates how difficult it is for a wife
to settle a case of domestic violence. Her case was “settled” four times at the village level by the head of
the village. He decided the husband had to pay fines to the victim and her family, but the husband stalled
and just made promises. Finally, the victim reported to an NGO that accompanied her to report the case to
the Wamena police. Her husband did not want the case handled by the Criminal Investigation Unit, and
asked that the Vice Chief of Polic handle it. The police never settled this case. The wife’s counselor then
took the case to the Wamena District Court, but until now it has not been settled and no verdict has been
issued. 87
83 WAM14 narrative.
84 SOR21 narrative.
85 Field notes on BIA30 case.
86 KJP24 narrative.
87 WAM16 narrative; information regarding handling of the case comes from the wife’s counselor.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! 46