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TIMOR-LESTE - WOMEN BECOME STRONG
AMIDST CHALLENGES
The most recent internal faction conflict in Timor-Leste in 2007, has caused numerous ethnic families to become displaced, like this one, as they search for stability and resources to help them psychologically and economically survive. A new wave of returning refugees are now part of the democratic face of autonomy in Timor-Leste. In spite of advances toward democracy, domestic violence continues to demand that more women facing violence inside their home know their human rights under the region’s current protective law. This law aims to help women navigate the legal system, although enforcement of the law is an important and continuing problem, say women’s rights advocates. Image: UNphoto
Jemma
Williams – WNN Features
(WNN) Dili,
TIMOR-LESTE, SOUTHEAST ASIA: Fourteen years ago, when Juliana (Lica) Marçal was
only 17 years old, she hid inside the Ave Maria church in Suai,
During Timor-Leste’s struggle for independence from
When the militia found Marçal she had been separated from her parents,
and was hiding inside one of the church rooms with her friends. Telling Marçal
they were going to kill her because she was “pro-independence,” a condition
that was very dangerous to publicly convey at the time, the militia took Marçal
to a military base for interrogation. She has tears in her eyes as she recalls
what happened to her there.
“I saw many women get raped, just in front of us in the room,” she
shared during a special one-one-one interview for WNN – Women News Network.
“They treated us very badly,” she continued.
After surviving the massacre the military then relocated Marçal by force
to
“This was a very, very hard time and it was a very difficult life for me
there,” she recalled. “I had to be strong!”
After her ordeal at the age of 17, Marçal returned home from
The road in the history to independence has been a long and violent one
for Timor-Leste, which spent four centuries as a colony of
During the occupation, and the consequent struggle for independence, it
is estimated that one third of the entire Timorese population died as mass
killings, violence and sexual assault as a weapon-of-war became routine.
Little more than a decade has now passed since the horrors of conflict
in the region has predominately ceased. The country has now begun the
challenging process of rebuilding as a nation from scratch. Even with advances,
the Timor-Leste society remains fractured by poverty, continued hunger and
ongoing internal cycles of aggression and violence.
Currently in Dili, Timor-Leste’s capital city, one in two women 15 years
old or older, make up half of the female population who has been a victim of
gender based violence. Much of the violence for women now is occurring inside,
not outside, the home where women are targeted by someone they live with and/or
know personally.
“Woman accept anything, even brutal physical violence,” says Marçal.
“They don’t know where they can go to get help,” she adds.
Traditionally violence within the home in Timor-Leste tends to be viewed
as a private family matter. Protective legislation, which was drafted by the
government in 2010, is a ‘brand new idea’ for most Timorese women.
Most of the domestic violence that occurs in Timor-Leste today continues
to go unreported. This part of the often ‘silent’ female Timorese society
exists strongly, despite government initiatives to address the problems. In
2010 Timor-Leste’s ‘Domestic Violence Law’ criminalized domestic violence
requiring the police to legally investigate a crime when it is reported. But
police protection is often untrusted in the region and police advocacy and
follow-through is still lacking.
For many years until 1999, numerous police officers in Timor-Leste
operated under the command of the
Indonesian military. Some of these officers
are said to have been involved in unlawful executions and enforced
disappearances in the region during the years of conflict. Memory of these
atrocities still exist sharply today among a generation of Timorese, causing
continued distrust of the police.
This and other problems remain on the table as women inside the region
are now being asked to report to police whenever domestic violence occurs.
Having overcome her own bad memory of the past, Marçal is now working
for the rights of women in Timor-Leste as the project lead for a program launch
for local organization Ba Futuru. The organization name means ‘For the Future’
as it works to help bring peace to a broken nation through advocacy for women
and their families.
Through a recent project launch, Ba Futuru is working to improve
grassroots protection for vulnerable populations of women in Timor-Leste.
Working to stop human rights violations by establishing local protection
networks Ba Futuru is planning to provide hundreds of women community members
the skills they need to be well-informed on safety, protection, human rights
and conflict resolution.
There’s a long way to go before the laws protecting women in Timor-Leste
are effectively implemented though, outlined Lindsey Greising, Ba Futuru’s
human rights advisor. Although the laws have far to go with implementation they
do have strong symbolic importance in the region, relates Greising.
“Formal laws set a standard to work towards,” Greising explains. “People
can then work towards enforcing that standard.”
But there are many challenges that must be overcome in order to empower
women and reduce instances of domestic violence in a region that has been
plagued by violence for decades. According to Marçal, women in the region often
simply do not understand their own human rights. The Timor-Leste justice system
is too out of reach for many of the women who need it the most, Marçal adds.
Juliana (Lica) Marçal, who currently works as teacher trainer and project leader for Ba Futuru, teaches a class for women community leaders. The class will help them know how they can offer resources and help to other women in their local region who are currently coping with violence inside the home. Knowing women’s legal rights is especially important to understanding the process in reporting to police, following up safely on cases and helping women find shelter when needed. Image: Ba Futuru
Marçal recalls one woman who had been a victim of a family sexual
predator. Once she gathered her courage she notified the police, but she had to
check the police station every day to know how her case was progressing. Like
many people in Timor-Leste this survivor relied only on a very low income as a
subsistence farmer.
Because of this she could not afford to follow up on her legal case.
Instead the situation was resolved in the ‘age old’ traditional Timorese way as
payment of money or goods by her attacker was made instead as a ‘payment
apology’ to her father.
“This does not benefit the victim…,” said Marçal in her interview. “…and
it causes people to believe that they can do anything so long as they can pay
for it.”
But cooperation to stop the violence cannot be left to women alone.
Police protection and attention is needed.
“Communication is key,” says The Asia Foundation, who is working to
improve lives, governance, and policies in the region. “In order to generate
early warnings on possible inflammatory disputes, gather information on
sensitive issues such as domestic violence and stay informed about potential
risk groups and threats to safety and security, the police need strong communication
with community members and knowledge of the local security environment,” adds
The Asia Foundation.
To do this Marçal hopes that the Ba Futuru project will help women to
stand up and begin to talk publicly about their private concerns.
“We support them in becoming strong women!” outlined Marçal. Community
intervention is essential in order for women to seek assistance, she explained.
“If we do not intervene, these cases do not process.”
Following a recent domestic violence case reported to Ba Futuru by a
trained community leader, Marçal traveled to the house where the survivor was
staying with her maternal family. Once she arrived Marçal saw that the woman
had been badly beaten.
“The victim was so bloody she had blood on her face and her body, and
she could not stand up,” Marçal described. “…she also could not sit down.”
In order to humiliate and hurt her, this woman’s husband had beaten her
with an iron bar and then urinated on her wounds, shared Marçal who after
assessing the situation called the police immediately. When the local security
officers arrived they took the woman’s husband to the police station for
interrogation. This extra time enabled the woman survivor to finally be able go
to the hospital without worrying about more violence from her husband.
“This happened quickly because we intervened,” outlined Marçal. Because
many people are afraid of this man, who often threatened his neighbors with a
machete, the survivor was unable to protect herself without assistance.
Even after reporting an obvious crime the man was only held for a few
days in the police station as he was released back into the same community
where the survivor still lives with her maternal family.
“We need to be very careful with these cases,” explains Marçal.
In order to protect the woman Marçal formally reported the situation to
Timor-Leste’s Ministry of Social Solidarity, which took a closer look at the
situation. Although Ba Futuru provides much needed assistance at the grassroots
level, Greising says the Timorese government needs to take more action to
strengthen the legal system to protect more women.
“This will require stronger political will to direct resources towards
judicial and police bodies,” says Greising.
Getting women to report violence to local police isn’t an easy task
though, as the culture in Timor-Leste discourages women who ‘complain’. 60
percent of women who do have cases of violence to report are also limited by
their proximity to the courthouse. Many are just too far away to get to court.
“Many victims have to travel long distances to reach formal assistance,
and [they have to] pay for their travel,” outlines Greising.
“It is impossible to know how many ‘silent cases’ exist in which the
victims, but for these material constraints, would prefer to use the formal
justice system,” outlines a detailed 2012 report
by Annika Kovar
who is the Access to Justice Advisor for Timor-Leste’s Public Defender General
Sergio de Jesus Hornai.
“Significant advances have been achieved in expanding women’s access to
justice as a result of major legislative victories. Yet the implementation of
the laws as well as the overall functioning of the judicial and police systems
remains weak,” outlined the ICRW –
As a respected local organization, Ba Futuru is now beginning to make
policy recommendations to the government of Timor-Leste — something it will
continue to do annually based on the results.
Moving from her own traumatic experience from the past, Marçal has had
to learn to be strong and then move on. Because of this, she feels a personal
connection to her work and the women and families who can be helped. When she
speaks with other women in the community she encourages them to talk about
their own experiences so the entire community can find a solution together.
Getting women to talk about their troubles publicly is an important part of the
solution, reminds Marçal.
“In the past I faced a very hard life, and so now I am trying to help
other people to be strong as well,” she outlines. “I especially like working as
a social worker because I can help other people… …In this work, we are
connected to the community,” she adds. “Sometimes we talk about how people are
feeling. Sometimes we talk about how the people are surviving.”
Stopping violence in society and inside the family is very difficult
because it is a cycle, shares Marçal. “When we [women] are alive, we always
face violence,” she continues. “I just show them the way so they can help
themselves.”