Housewives, Students Most Vulnerable to Domestic Abuse: Komnas Perempuan
Jakarta. Housewives and female students are especially vulnerable to domestic abuse, according to a report released by the National Commission on Violence Against Women, or Komnas Perempuan, on Tuesday (07/03).
There were 5,784 reported cases of domestic violence against housewives and 2,171 against female students last year out of a total of 259,150 cases involving women in general.
Komnas Perempuan commissioner Indraswari said housewives constituted 60 percent of all victims of violence against women in 2016, compared to 59 percent the year before. Female students made up 24 percent of all victims in 2016 and 21 percent in 2015.
"Women are more vulnerable to domestic abuse because of the power struggle between the two genders. Housewives are even more vulnerable because of an economic dependency on their spouses," she said during the launch of the report in Jakarta.
The most common form of harassment reported in 2016 was physical abuse, followed by sexual abuse, emotional abuse and economic abuse.
Rape and sexual assault were the most common types of sexual abuse, with nearly 2,600 reported cases. However, the report also shed light on the increased occurrence of marital rape in the country, with 135 cases reported in 2016.
"Unfortunately, the 2004 law aimed at eliminating violence against women does not categorize marital rape as being within its parameters, as that form of rape is still seen as socially unconventional in Indonesia," Indraswari said.
The report lists rape as the most common form of violence committed against women.
Tags: Keywords: