The 16 Days of Anti-Violence Against Women (16HAKTP) campaign starts from November 25 to December 10, 2024. A series of activities are held by organizations and communities to voice all elements of society to strengthen efforts to protect victims of gender-based violence, fulfill their rights, and together end violence against women. This year's theme is "Protect All, Fulfill Victims' Rights, End Violence against Women". This theme was chosen as a response to the emergency situation of violence against women in Indonesia.
Quoted from the press release of the National Commission on Violence Against Women, Commissioner of the National Commission on Violence Against Women, Bahrul Fuad stated, "The Annual Notes (CATAHU) of the National Commission on Violence Against Women recorded the number of complaints of cases of Violence against Women in 2023 as many as 289,111, of which 4,347 were complaints of cases to the National Commission on Violence Against Women, while 3,303 of the cases were cases of gender-based violence. With this number, it means that on average the National Commission on Violence Against Women receives 16 complaints every day."
The data on complaints of cases of gender-based violence (GBV) against women often occurs in the personal/domestic realm, namely 284,741 cases (98.5%). Domestic spaces that should be safe places have instead become the main location for violence.
PARTNERSHIP through the Estungkara program held a public discussion in the series Inclusive Chat themed “Building a Safe Space for Marginalized Groups and Ethnic Minorities”. This discussion presented two speakers from the community, namely Hermina Mawa, Rendu Indigenous Women of Nagekeo Regency, and Chen Fie, KWPS Red Lantern Violence Prevention Task Force from the Benteng Chinese Community of Banten Regency.
Both speakers shared how the context in each region builds a safe space to protect women from violent practices. Chen Fie, through the Violence Prevention Task Force at KWPS Lampion Merah and supported by PPSW Jakarta, routinely holds critical discussions to increase the knowledge of women from the Benteng Chinese ethnic group regarding forms of violence against women and the prevention of violent practices to their reporting. The Task Force, which was formed in 2023, has become a safe space for Benteng Chinese ethnic women who have also experienced violence to obtain protection.
"We initially did not know what the forms of violence were because it had been going on for a long time, so it was often considered normal. It turns out that violence must be stopped. We carried out prevention through a series of discussions and also socialization to residents with a number of attributes, such as distributing educational stickers, posters, and roll banners placed at a number of points so that residents could read," said Chen Fie.
Slightly different from the Mama Mince area, Hermina Mawa's nickname. Rendu Butowe Village is a village affected by a national strategic project in the form of the construction of the Mbay Lambo Reservoir. The impact of this development, a number of residents had to be evicted from their residential areas, with compensation that did not fully cover the losses, both material losses and social losses. Mama Mince together with the mama mama group in Rendu Village formed an organizing area in the form of an economic group which also served as a forum for joint advocacy struggle.
"We, together with PEREMPUAN AMAN, are provided with training such as paralegal training to be able to advocate in fighting for our rights, as well as developing weaving innovations," said Mama Mince.
Economic empowerment in the form of weaving has become a safe space for mothers of Rendu Butowe Village amidst the conflict over the construction of the reservoir. Weaving has become part of the tradition of the indigenous people of Rendu Butowe. However, Mama Mince said that the weaving that is currently being done still needs further innovation, whether these woven products can later become bags or hats, so that they are easier to sell to the market at a more affordable price.
The 16HAKTP campaign is an important momentum in raising public awareness by involving the younger generation, community leaders, and non-governmental organizations, as well as encouraging multi-sectoral collaboration, both at the national and regional levels. However, it is also important to strengthen women in terms of knowledge and economic capacity as a fortress to protect themselves against violent practices in their environment. The Benteng Chinese ethnic women's violence task force and the Rendu indigenous community's weaving economic group are forms of safe spaces that have been formed at this time.
Safe space in this case is not only interpreted as a physical space, but philosophically it can be in the form of legal regulations, laws and customary rules, women's participation space in decision-making, including planning women's protection programs from violence. The 16HAKTP campaign is expected to encourage the availability of safe spaces that can provide support for the fulfillment of the rights of women victims of violence, such as safe houses, legal assistance, and psychological assistance.
