Excellencies:
The representative of German Embassy
The representative of Sweden Embassy
The representative of Canada Embassy
The representative of Republic of Korea for Indonesia
Distinguished Speakers:
Ms. Felicity Lane, First Secretary of the Australian Embassy,
Sophie van Huut, Second Secretary of Dutch Embassy
And all distinguished guests and participants of this discussion.
First of all, thank you for being here today. On behalf of Komnas Perempuan let me begin by giving you a warm welcome to discussion of CATAHU, The Komnas Perempuan’s Annual Report on gender-based violence against women cases. Greeting also from our chairperson who apologize for not able to join us in this discussion due to other tasks outside Jakarta.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Komnas Perempuan or the National Commission on Violence Against Women is one of the national human rights institutions in Indonesia. We focus on the elimination of all forms of violence against women and the advancement of women’s human rights.
According to our presidential decree, one of our tasks is to conduct monitoring, fact findings and documentation as a basis to formulize policy recommendation. Hence, since 2001, Komnas Perempuan has been publishing CATAHU, an Annual Report on gender based violence against women cases, that compiles data of reported cases from the Service Agencies throughout Indonesia, the Religious Courts and the direct complaints reports to Komnas Perempuan. All institutions participate on voluntary basis. Catahu is published annually in conjunction with the commemoration of the World Women's Day on March 8th.
CATAHU provides information regarding the trends of reported cases, and shares information related to the situation of available services, polices and challenges faced in the field. To date, CATAHU is widely used as reference by stake holders for policy making, programs and in campaigns. Komnas Perempuan also integrates CATAHU in our reports to human rights’ mechanisms both to the treaty based and to the special procedures as avenues for policy advocacy. We also share this information to contribute to global mapping of the situation of gender based violence and discrimination against women.
It is important to understand that the data in CATAHU indicates of the iceberg phenomenon on the issue of Gender Based Violence (GBV) in Indonesia. The data is limited to cases reported by victims, as well as the number and capacity of institutions which involved in data compilation. Thus, the increase in the number of cases does not mean that there were fewer cases of violence in the previous year, but because the number of victims who dare to report their cases is increasing and access to complaints agencies is also wider.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In 2022, Komnas Perempuan would like to introduce CATAHU more closely to our partners from international community in Indonesia. Through a specific discussion of our report, we expect to contribute to the information needed for international community to develop better program in their cooperation that will advance the fulfilment of women’s human rights in Indonesia. And we also expect to gain feedback from our partners on CATAHU so that it can be more strategic, particularly after two decades of its initiation. This input will improve CATAHU as a tool for policy advocacy
It is noteworthy that in 2021, there have been several policy advances in the form of pioneering formulation initiatives in the governance, human resources and education sectors related to efforts to prevent and handle GBV by both local and central governments. However, there have also been a number of policy setbacks related to the fulfillment of women's rights such as the Supreme Court’s decision to cancel join ministerial decree to prohibit obligation and also prohibition of wearing religious attire as school uniform. This decision hinder the fulfillment of the rights of women and girls regarding freedom of religion and belief.
Distinguished Speakers, ladies and Gentlemen
We convey our highest appreciation to the 129 institutions and The Directorate of Religious Courts Body (BADILAG) for their cooperation in the development of 2021 CATAHU. I also thank to my fellow commissioners, staffs and volunteers, for their dedication and hard work to ensure the publication of CATAHU and at the same time organize the launch, as well as today’s discussion.
Finally, we would like to thank for the presence of representatives from embassies, international institutions, international human rights agencies, international Non-Government Organizations and others relevant institutions that share the concern regarding gender-based violence and discrimination against women.
Hopefully, we always be hand in hand to fulfill women's rights and to stop violence against women, for the promotion of human rights in Indonesia in particular and the global community in general.
Thank you.
Jakarta, 17th October 2022
Olivia Chadidjah Salampessy
Vice Chairperson