Cases Of Violence Against Women Almost Doubled In Indonesia

Vaccine Illustration/Photo: Antara

JAKARTA - The National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) recorded that 338,496 cases of gender-based violence against women occurred in 2021, based on data from Komnas Perempuan, service institutions, and the Religious Courts Agency.

"There has been a significant increase, namely 50 percent of cases of gender-based violence against women, namely 338,496 cases in 2021 from 226,062 cases in 2020", said Komnas Perempuan Deputy Chair, Olivia C. Salampessy, at the 2022 Komnas Perempuan Annual Notes, as monitored from Jakarta, Monday, March 7th.

She also revealed that complaints of cases of gender-based violence against women increased by 80 percent, from 2,134 cases in 2020 to 3,838 cases in 2021. These complaints were made by women victims of violence to Komnas Perempuan.

In addition, in Religious Courts Agency there was also a 52 percent increase in cases, from 215,694 cases in 2020 to 327,629 cases in 2021. However, based on service agency data, there was a 15 percent decrease in the number of cases or 1,205 cases, with the figure in 2021 reaching 7,029 cases.

"This is because, during the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, several service institutions have ceased to operate. The case documentation system is also inadequate and resources are limited", she added.

Komnas Perempuan also did not receive information regarding the conditions of cases of violence against women from the provinces of West Sulawesi and Central Kalimantan, she said.

Most of the reporting data, which submitted report data to Komnas Perempuan by filling out and returning questionnaires, were from institutions in Java.

"If the capacity of institutions and information is available and women have access to the communication channels provided, it is predictable that the amount of data collected can be much larger than the previous year", she said.