A large gathering of people, mostly women, took place in Kampung Matara in the District of Semangga, Merauke to publicise the widespread occurrence  of domestic violence.Several of the women present wondered what happens to complaints made by women about the domestic violence they have suffered because as things stand at the moment, they have no idea about how these complaints are handled. Some of them wanted to know the telephone number of Engelberta, a well-known Papuan woman activist, so that they can phone her and inform her about having experienced domestic violence.

Such  incidents are clearly a serious violation of human rights as laid down in a number of international conventions …. [part of the text is missing at this point].

One participant said that the victims of such violence are mainly women and children. There are incidents when men are the victims but they can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Engelberta said that the violence in most cases takes the form of physical or psychological violence. The latter refers to situations for instance where there is absolutely no communication between men and women. ‘This must not be allowed to continue, she said.

She stressed the importance of people reporting incidents of violence when they occur. ‘We must put an end to this discrimination against women. Whenever anyone commits an act of violence and behaves as if they can take the law into their own hands, the matter should be reported to  the police. It is the responsibility of the police to take anyone alleged to have committed an act of violence into custody for investigation.

She urged parents to pay close attention to what happens to their children at school or when they are playing together in the streets. These are situations, she said, when many acts of sexual abuse occur. She mentioned in particular a recent incident when a young boy was sexually abused by  an elderly person.

During the discussion, the head of the District of Semangga, Recky Samkakai said that no one, in particular women,  should be afraid of reporting incidents when they have personally experienced an act of violence. Such occurrences should be reported to the local police in order for the case to be handled in accordance with the law.

Translated by TAPOL