A Reflection in Domestic Abuse to Women In Indonesia

An Abstraction

Indonesia,as one of the biggest countries with 70% population of women, has successfully maintained The Law of Republic of Indonesia no 23/2004 about The Eradication of Domestic Abuse to Women. This law was issued officially by The Ministry of Women Empowerment and Affairs of Republic of Indonesia in hope to minimalize each case of domestic abuse happening often to women as housewives in Indonesia.

This law of eradicating domestic abuse to married women is considered to provide a lot of potential acts which are giving an expectation to put each case of domestic abuse in a legal suit, in the future hope to uncover many hidden domestic cases, consequently, more married women may develop a bargaining power to protect themselves from any type of domestic abuse mentally and physically. Each act in this law outlines some significant definitions regarding to domestic abuse, the specification, the category and the law actions the women can pursuit if any of the cases happens on them principally.

Although this law seems to cover, or at least, to manage any married women's need in having themselves protect or find out any legal action to eliminate any case of domestic abuse, many things are still contradictive due to a fact that there has not been any significant progress emerging after the issuing of the law. One of the principal concerns about this matter is ,that for most women, especially in Indonesia, domestic abuse tends to be " a matter goes natural" because it can be running managably on behalf of their husbands' superiority and love based on the cultural root describing that women, wherever they are, even if they have got married, must obey their husband authority and severly it leads on ongoing domestic abuse on women, no matter how highly educated they are and even many of them are coming not only from the poor class but also the well economy based. The tradition in Indonesia, which is based on the Eastern path, gives a very widely potential way for any husband to do violance on behalf of love and man superiority, sometimes it has a religion background either in liberating to do the abuse on their wives, and this situation is believed not to give any bargaining position strongly to struggle for any married women but any of them tends to accept it.

This thesis finally is expected to figure out the tendency for many married women in Indonesia to accept themselves to be a part of their husbands' superiority, mainly in liberating the domestic abuse as something taken naturally and accepted as well. It also shows the relationship with the condition of the culture in Indonesia specifically. There is a deep worry that the law number 23/2004 will only stay stagnant, be a jargon and an ongoing discourse without any clear, strong respond, and wide awareness from everyone living in Indonesia