The women's crisis centre (WCC) Rifka
Annisa opened here in Yogyakarta in 1993. At the time we were the only
one in Indonesia. We were concerned about domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual harassment, rape and violence against children.
However, we decided to focus on violence against wives. We aim to
educate the community about the nature of domestic violence, as it is
often taboo and considered the province of the family alone.
Women who come to our office to seek help
receive psychological counselling as well as legal advice and aid if
needed. They can join a group where they meet with other women with
similar experiences, to share and support one another. If necessary,
the women are offered shelter.
Almost all come for help confused and
without the knowledge of their husbands. They hear about the WCC from
other women, as well as via seminars and workshops we conduct with
other organisations. We also have a regular column in the Sunday
edition of the local Yogyakarta newspaper, Kedaulatan Rakyat, where
women write in for advice. Below the letter we invite women to contact
us by phone.
They come to our centre from all
backgrounds, however middle class and educated women can take greater
advantage of our facilities. To reach out to village people, we have
been working the last six months to set up a community-based centre in
the Gunung Kidul area east of Yogyakarta. We bring together likely
village leaders, both men and women, and try to gradually raise their
awareness through discussions and workshops. At first we must disguise
the issues in less confrontational terms, though of course we can talk
about rape and sexual harassment, as all community members agree these
are violations. We hope that eventually this group will be able to take
initiative to intervene in cases of domestic violence in their village.
This will be the first time something like this is tried in a village
in Indonesia. If it is successful we hope to set up other groups like
it.
We approached the police and hospitals in
Yogya to try to get them to recognise the special needs of domestic
violence victims. The police have been very cooperative and we have
helped them establish special consultation rooms in police stations.
The Panti Rapih Hospital in Yogyakarta now has a special unit for such
women, where they can be transferred from other sections of the
hospital. We used to have to scan newspapers for stories to find the
women we should be helping. Now police and hospital staff contact Rifka
Annisa for help with counselling.
Wineng Endah (rifka@yogya.wasantara.net.id), coordinator for community relations, (web www.rifka.annisa.or.id).
