Rifka Annisa undertakes research, establishes support and education programs, and trains communities to deal with gender-based violence. With all this knowledge and expertise, Rifka Annisa also compiles books on how to understand gender, the role of Islam, Indonesian law and the way we run our programs. These small books provide valuable insight into the work we do and address many frequently asked questions from people wondering about the issues of violence against women in Indonesia.

Book 1: Understanding Gender and Violence Against Women

This book explains what gender is and how rigid gender roles lead to a culture that accepts and perpetuates violence against women. Gender is different to biological sex, as the different anatomies we have hold no inherent meaning. Contrastingly, gender is an assigned construction of rules that drastically affect how people live their lives. Common stereotypes of male and female include women staying at home, being passive and being more emotional while men work outside the home, are assertive and are seen as rational. These expected behaviours of people with different physical anatomy are something humans have created, and it severely restricts the rights of women. From marginalising them economically to restricting their participation in social and political life, women constantly receive fewer opportunities than men. Women also statistically experience more domestic violence from men close to them. From Rifka Annisa’s research, we estimate that on the island of Java a woman is raped every 5 hours.

Not only do women experience more violence, but victim-blaming, and the stereotyping and shaming of women who are assaulted is a common practice in Indonesian culture (and in most cultures all over the world). Women are seen as wanting attention, and teasing men with how they dress or what they were doing. If the violence occurs within their household, people ask why the woman stayed, and blame her assault on her ‘choice’ to stay with an abusive husband. In reality, regardless of clothing or behaviour, women are still assaulted, raped and abused by men. Further, providing for their children, economic dependence, psychological trauma and threats from their partners often restrict women from simply leaving an abusive household or situation. This fear and stigma that their community will not believe them or blame them for being abused is a huge problem in addressing the issue of gender-based violence – especially as it removes responsibility of abuse from the man/perpetrator.

Understanding Gender and Violence Against Women is the perfect book for an articulate explanation of how gender and violence influence each other, and how we need to think more critically about our current culture.

Book 2: Is Islam Discriminatory?

Islam overwhelmingly emphasises equality for all, with a responsibility to all of humanity to be charitable and peaceful. However, masculinist and patriarchal interpretations of the Al Qur’an are often quoted to justify gender inequality. Muslims who use Islam to maintain gender roles and even violence against women, are violating the basic tenant of sharia, i.e. maslahat (benefit, well being).Believing that men are better leaders or that women are taking rights from ‘outside’ of those given to them in Islam, they ignore the vast amount of teachings that emphasise equality for all. The fact that rights for women have been ignored within the Muslim community for so long shows an ignorance and biased perception of Islam used to benefit men.

Islamic laws and teachings that are explicitly sexist towards women do exist, such as the need for two women to testify versus one man. What Rifka Annisa emphasises is that these laws were written 14 centuries ago, at a time when women were even more oppressed. The Al-Qur’an and other Islamic writings are very gender progressive for the time in which they were written, however there are some parts that reflect the context of that society. As Muslims who are currently practicing Islam in the 21^st Century it is important to study what is relevant in today’s society. Gender equality, equal relations between wife and husband, the application of logic and the process of learning are vital to our understanding of Islam.

Islam itself is not discriminatory, however patriarchal Muslim communities can use the Al-Qur’an and other Islamic texts to oppress women. Therefore, it comes down to changing cultural and social attitudes, and focusing on the most important principles of Islam such as equality.

3. Why Allow Differences?

Gender roles are a socialised phenomena created by humans, they are not natural – particularly in terms of education, skills etc. Many people believe that gender roles are genetic because of long cultural traditions perpetuated by the community, the government and other systems.

A commonly asked question is that if gender roles work in harmony and create a good relationship between men and women in a community, is that still harmful? An important feature of equality is choice. Do people have the choice to act outside of gender roles, even if those gender roles work in harmony in that community? If they cannot choose to have different opportunities, then inequality is still be an issue.

The best way to address inequality is to begin educating people with curriculums that are non-sexist. From children to adults, it is important to start teaching gender equality within our communities. Government policy must also strive to be gender-aware, particularly in acknowledging the struggles of women and history of sexism.

Book 4: Justice For Who?

The Indonesian legal system is currently still unequal in its treatment of women. It is particularly limited in protecting them from violence, rape, exploitation and domestic abuse. Sexual assault legislation is often only applicable to cases of pre-marital assault, which makes it very difficult for married women who are raped by their husbands to get legal help. Conviction and sentencing also shows that men usually face no legal consequences for domestic violence as police, courts and society make coming forward and providing evidence very difficult. Additionally, poor women often do not have the time or money for lawsuits.

Divorce is legally accessible to all women in Indonesia, for Muslims through the Religious Court and for non-Muslims through the State Court. However women who are not yet married, also face complex issues. After having sexual intimacy, their partners might threaten to break up with them or refuse to marry them. This kind of coercive behaviour is unhealthy and abusive. Rifka Annisa advocates that all women should prioritise their safety over the idea of their virginity. Virginity is a social construct used to control women and abuse should not be put up with because of fears about virginity. Pregnancy outside of marriage is another common issue with a variety of options: getting married and raising the baby, raising the child as a single parent, putting the baby up for adoption or having an abortion. Islamic teachings are not consistent as to when life begins. Some sources quote conception, some 40 days and others 120 days – however abortion can be an option at any time that is best for the woman, and Rifka Annisa can organise this medical help.

Overall, the legal system is often a complicated and biased process for women however Rifka Annisa does offer legal support to any women survivors of domestic violence.

Book 5: Organising Ourselves

Rifka Annisa’s program for establishing Crisis Centres based in the community is one of our most successful ways of addressing violence against women in rural areas of Central Java. The program established in Bupati KDG Tc. II Gunung Kidul is an example of how Rifka Annisa based its Crisis Centre in the community so that the program became self-sustaining without outside help from Rifka Annisa’s main office in Jogja.

The first step is understanding what areas might be the most in need of a women’s crisis centre. While research has shown that all communities regardless of background have cases of domestic violence, there are some indicators as to areas with a larger domestic violence issue. These indicators include a high youth marriage rate, high divorce rate, high mortality rate for mothers and babies, high female suicide rate and high recordings of murders by and of women. After choosing an area, the internal systems and external systems that can be involved in a case of domestic violence should be identified. Internal systems include the victim and perpetrator, their families, neighbours and community. External systems include the hospital, police and the women’s crisis centre.

Rifka Annisa then focuses on putting together resources for changing the socialisation of gender, providing psychological and legal counselling and community organising in the region. A secretariat is also needed to keep documents from domestic violence cases. By working with the community, cooperating with people in the internal systems and making the benefits very clear, programs like a women’s crisis centre are more likely to be accepted. In the community of Tc. II Gunung Kidul, Rifka Annisa gave volunteers from the community a series of workshops, 10 days of work experience at the Rifka Annisa office in Jogja and helped them start running the women’s crisis centre in their community. These volunteers were organised into three groups, counsellors, educators and accountability/law keepers. The counsellors were trained in psychology and legal support, the educators were given gender awareness programs and the accountability groups were usually made up of village leaders and local government. In this way the women’s crisis centre in Gunung Kidul became independent and ran effectively on its own once Rifka Annisa stepped away.This is the model Rifka Annisa uses in many areas of Central Java to help women facing domestic violence in rural areas. []

Author: Bridget Harilaou (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Student intern in the Media and Public Relation Division, Rifka Annisa

Selasa, 11 Agustus 2015 diselenggarakan Sosialisasi Peraturan Bupati Nomor 36 Tahun 2015 tentang Pencegahan Perkawinan pada Usia Anak. Acara ini diselenggarakan oleh Badan Pemberdayaan Masyarakat, Perempuan dan Keluarga Berencana (BPMPKB) Gunungkidul bekerja sama dengan Rifka Annisa WCC. Sosialisasi ini mengundang perwakilan semua kecamatan di Gunungkidul, tim penyusun Perbup dan awak media. Berikut ini poin-poin penting yang disampaikan dalam sosialisasi tersebut.

A. Latar Belakang

• Undang-undang Nomor 35 Tahun 2014 tentang Perubahan Undang-undang Nomor 23 Tahun 2002 tentang Perlindungan Anak, dalam Undang-undang tersebut Anak adalah amanah sekaligus karunia Tuhan Yang Maha Esa.
• Anak adalah tunas, potensi, masa depan bangsa dan generasi penerus cita-cita perjuangan bangsa, sehingga setiap anak berhak atas kelangsungan hidup, tumbuh, dan berkembang, berpartisipasi serta berhak atas perlindungan dari tindak kekerasan dan diskriminasi serta hak sipil dan kebebasan.
• Bahwa data dari Pengadilan Agama Wonosari menunjukkan bahwa dari tahun 2013 s.d. bulan Juni2015, permohonan dispensasi kawin sebanyak 366 permohonan. Usia paling rendah yang dimohonkan dispensasi kawin untuk anak perempuan yaitu usia 14 (empat belas tahun) sedangkan untuk anak laki-laki yang memohonkan dispensasi perkawinan pada usia paling rendah adalah 15 (lima belas) tahun.
• Perkawinan pada usia anak mempunyai dampak yang sistemik bagi tumbuh kembang anak serta bayi yang lahir dari perkawinan pada usia anak tersebut, mulai dari faktor kesehatan ibu dan anak, psikologis, ekonomi, pendidikan, hukum, sosial budaya, lost generation dan dampak lainnya.
• Sebagai amanah dari Undang-undang Nomor 35 Tahun 2014 tentang Perubahan Undang-undang Nomor 23 Tahun 2002 tentang Perlindungan Anak pada Pasal 26 butir c bahwa orangtua berkewajiban mencegah terjadinya perkawinan pada usia anak.

B. Permasalahan
Permasalahan yang ada terkait dengan perkawinan pada usia anak adalah sebagai berikut:

1. Belum optimalnya upaya-upaya pencegahan perkawinan pada usia anak yang harus dilakukan oleh pemerintah, pemerintah daerah, orangtua, masyarakat, anak, dan seluruh pemangku kepentingan.
2. Belum optimalnya upaya pendampingan, rehabilitas, reintegrasi dan pemberdayaan bagi anak yang telah melakukan perkawinan pada usia anka, orangtua, dan masyarakat.
3. Belum optimalnya rencana aksi daerah dalam upaya pencegahan perkawinan pada usia anak yang mensinergikan program dan kegiatan pemerintah daerah dan lembaga-lembaga yang peduli pad apemenuhan hak anak terkait lainnya.

C. Peraturan Bupati Nomor 36 Tahun 2015 tentang Pencegahan Perkawinan pada Usia Anak.
Perbub terdiri dari 11 Bab, 15 Pasal, dan 37 ayat mengatur sebagai berikut:

1. Upaya pencegahan perkawinan pada usia anak;
2. Penguatan kelembagaan
3. Upaya pendampingan dan pemberdayaan bagi anak yang melakukan perkawinan pada usia anak, dan bagi orangtua, keluarga, serta masyarakat.
4. Pengaduan.
5. Kebijakan, strategi, dan program.
6. Monitoring dan evaluasi
7. Pembiayaan

D. Rekomendasi

Setelah diterbitkan Peraturan Bupati Nomor 36 Tahun 2015 tentang Pencegahan Perkawinan Pada Usia Anak ini diharpakan dalam waktu 1 (satu) tahun sudah tersusun rencana aksinya.

Pada 02/07/2015 lalu, Rifka Annisa melakukan audiensi dengan Direktur Jenderal Peradilan

Agama (Dirjen Badilag) Mahkamah Agung RI, Bapak Dr H Abdul Manah SH MH.

Dalam pertemuan tersebut pihak Rifka Annisa melalui direktur Rifka Annisa Suharti

memaparkan capaian-capaian kerjasama dengan Badilag terkait upaya peningkatan akses

keadilan bagi perempuan dan anak korban kekerasan di lingkungan Peradilan Agama yang telah

berjalan sejak penandatanganan MOU pada tahun 2013. Selain itu Rifka Annisa dan Badilag

juga membincangkan peluang-peluang kerjasama yang dapat dilakukan ke depan.

Dari pembicaraan tersebut terdapat beberapa hal yang dapat menjadi peluang kerjasama

diantaranya berkaitan dengan peradilan terpadu isbat nikah, integrasi substansi tentang

akses keadilan bagi perempuan dan anak korban kekerasan dalam kegiatan-kegiatan diklat

hakim Mahkamah Agung, dan optimalisasi pelayanan posbakum.

Rifka Annisa dan Badilag sepakat untuk terus bekerjasama guna mendorong dan

mengoptimalkan peran hakim dalam memberikan keadilan utamanya bagi perempuan dan anak

korban kekerasan di lingkungan Peradilan Agama.

Dua peristiwa terjadi beruntun, dua perempuan kehilangan nyawa, di Yogyakarta yang katanya istimewa. Dua peristiwa ini meneguhkan pernyataan Jaringan Perempuan Yogyakarta di awal 2013 lalu, darurat kekerasan seksual bukanlah sekedar seruan tetapi persoalan yang harus diselesaikan melalui komitmen negara. Kematian seorang mahasiswi saat melahirkan menyentak nuranikita, inikah wajah kemanusiaan kita saat ini? Sedemikian acuhkah kita hari ini? Belum usai duka kita, kemanusiaan kita kembali dikoyak oleh kejadian kekerasan dan pembunuhan perempuan muda.

Media yang semestinya berperan sebagai corong faktual dalam advokasi kekerasan seksual, justru sering melakukan viktimisasi yang tidak mengindahkan kode etik jurnalistik. Dengan penulisan identitas yang jelas dengan penyebutan nama, pemberitaan yang dilakukan secara gamblang melanggar prinsip penghargaan kepada yang sudah mati dan menghilangkan empati pada keluarga korban.

Pemberitaan yang sensasional dan bombastis tidak seharusnya disajikan terutama dalam pemberitaan kedua peristiwa di Yogya belakangan ini. Peran media sebagai sumber berita yang aktual dan faktual tetap penting dan publik harus mampu kritis untuk menjaga peran tersebut berjalan baik.

Di sisi lain, pemerintah yang mempunyai kewenangan pengawasan seringkali lalai melakukan fungsi pengawasannya. Pengawasan publik dan pemerintah terhadap pemberitaan sudah harus bisa mengingatkan dan mengarahkan media untuk bisa melakukan pemberitaan yang lebih berperspektif korban.

Peristiwa tersebut harusnya menjadi lonceng peringatan sekaligus mempertanyakan kembali apa yang terjadi di masyarakat kita. Setidaksensitif itukah kita dan apakah kita akan terus lalai sehingga dua nyawa melayang menggenaskan dan luput dari perhatian kita? Jogja berhati nyaman sudah tidak lagi sejalan dengan realita, seolah kemanusiaan mulai tergerus dalam paradoks pembangunan.

Menyikapi peristiwa ini dan juga pemberitaan yang dilakukan oleh sejumlah media, Jaringan Perempuan Yogyakarta, One Billion Rising, Perempuan Mahardika, dan JPPRT mendesak hal-hal berikut:
1. Kepekaan media dalam memberitakan yang mengedepankan prinsip non diskriminasi dan perlindungan korban, kami menuntut media memberikan koreksi pemberitaan atas berita yang mengabaikan kode etik jurnalistik
2. Komitmen para kepala daerah untuk mengambil sikap dan melakukan aksi nyata pencegahan melalui perluasan informasi dan akses terhadap layanan kesehatan reproduksi dan perlindungan terhadap perempuan
3. Kami menyerukan kepada masyarakat Yogyakarta untuk menghidupkan kembali kepedulian, rasa saling menghormati, melindungi dan menjaga serta kepekaan sosial terhadap sesama warga-sebagai bagian dari identitas Yogyakarta.

Yogyakarta, 5 Mei 2015

Larissa Ranft

Intern in Public Relation and Media Division Rifka Annisa

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

I was very excited to be involved in the training session held by Rifka Annisa. The training took a theme of “The Role of the Community in the Prevention of Domestic Violence against Women and Children in Gunungkidul”. The training which took place in Djoglo Samiaji, Wonosari on the 17^th and 18^th of September, was held with the purpose to learn and discuss about the role of the community in the fight against domestic violence. The group of participants consisted of twelve men and seven women, including two tutors who conducted the training session.

In the beginning of the training session, all of the attendees had the chance to get to know each other, and to talk about their exceptions and hopes regarding the agenda. In the following, the attendees put forward their personal opinions and ideas concerning the word 'gender': What are the differences between the 'biological sex' and the 'social sex' (gender) in a society? Based on this, the attendees collected characteristics and examples of gender inequality in society. Hence, the participants learned about gender inequality on different levels, such as: Marginalization and Subordination of Women, Violence against Women, Stereotyping, and Double Burden for Women in Society. Both of the tutors explained each of the named fields in detail and provided various examples. Based on this, a discussion followed in the group concerning the different roles and tasks of men and women in society.

Thus, besides discussing the influence of culture on the social roles of men and women and prevailing inequality between the sexes, the participants could also reflect on their own opinions regarding roles and responsibilities of men and women, as well as husband and wife. As a result of this discussion, it could be discovered that there is still a wide public opinion, which sees men as “the head of the family” and women as “the main care-taker of children and household”. A husband might “help” his wife in the household and with the children, but the main responsibility still lies with the wife. In the following, the participants dealt with the question of how a “head of the family” has to behave, which characteristics does she or he has to combine? Besides this, all participants agreed that the task as “being the leader of the family” is not an easy one. Many of the attendees agreed upon the fact that both, the husband and the wife, have to take all decisions together about all things that concern the household and the family. The most important thing is a good communication between the husband and the wife: Both spouses should try to imagine themselves in the position of one another, and both of them should do the same work and share all responsibilities inside and outside the household.

On the second day of the training session the tutors provided information and material about the issue of “gender biased violence” and its relation to authoritative power structures in a patriarchal society. As a result of the patriarchal system, wives are being placed beneath (their) husbands, as well as women are being placed beneath men. Moreover, the participants were taught about the structure of an “ecological framework”, which consists of five different circles: the individual, family and personal relationships, community, state and societal structures, international and global structures. All fields are influenced by each other. In the following, the group discussed various reasons why violence against women and children happens. Together with the tutors, the participants developed and discussed ways and methods to prevent the occurrence of violence against women and children and the role of the community in this. (*)