Mutilation Cases, Unsafe Relationships in Marriage Threaten Women's Lives

First, in Ciamis, West Java. The murder was carried out by Tarsum (40) against his wife, Y (44), by mutilating the victim's body. The action was carried out in the open. It is suspected that the suspect killed and mutilated his wife due to economic factors because he was in debt of up to IDR 100 million due to his business going bankrupt. However, the police have not been able to confirm the motive behind the perpetrator's actions.

Also read: Every week women are murdered

The second case occurred in Temboan Village, Maesaan District, South Minahasa, North Sulawesi. Allegedly because of jealousy, Refrain (26) killed his wife, RT (24), using a sword. The suspect's actions were even carried out while his wife was sleeping because he heard his wife delirious and uttering words which the suspect thought were that his wife was having a relationship with another man.

While delirious, the victim uttered the words "Ndak need to work in Bolsel (No need to go to work in South Bolaang Mongondow)". Hearing these words, the suspect then killed his wife with a machete, injuring her head and several parts of her body. Not only that, the suspect also went to his in-laws and assaulted his in-laws until he suffered serious injuries.

The crime in the form of physical torture that leads to the gruesome murder of women is a cause for concern for everyone. The Minister of Women Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA), I Gusti Ayu Bintang Darmawati, calls on all parties to pay serious attention in protecting women and children from any form of violence.

"The events that have occurred recently should be an alarm or reminder for all of us about the importance of prioritizing the protection of women from violence. "Because there is no room for perpetrators of violence against women in this country," said Bintang Darmawati to Kompas, Wednesday (8/5/2024).

The Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection also specifically requested psychological assistance for female child victims of crime. "This incident will certainly leave trauma for child victims because children have strong memories of every event. Therefore, recovery for the child and the victim's family must be provided and given special attention," she said.

Case after case of savage murders against women should increase public awareness of the importance of protecting women, including children, from various forms of violence.

Also read: The Mystery of the Murder of a Woman in a Suitcase Revealed Thanks to CCTV

For the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), these cases increase the number of women killed in personal relationships. This phenomenon strengthens the results of reporting research carried out by the National Commission on Violence Against Women regarding the murder of women or femicide.

This incident will surely leave trauma for the child victim as they have a strong memory of every event. Therefore, recovery for the child and the victim's family must be provided and given special attention.

Komnas Perempuan found in 2023 that reporting on intimate femicide occupied the highest coverage, which is murder committed by a husband, ex-husband, boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, or cohabiting partners, reaching 67 percent or 109 cases reported out of 159 cases of femicide.

Intimate femicide occupies the highest news coverage divided into types of violence against wives (KTI) with 64 cases, violence in dating relationships (KDP) with 33 cases, violence against ex-boyfriends (KMP) with 11 cases, violence against ex-husbands (KMS) with 1 case.

Prevention

Commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission for Women, Siti Aminah Tardi, assesses that femicide receives special attention from the commission. One characteristic of femicide is sadistic treatment towards the victim's body.

In 2023, there will be 10 treatments for bodies that degrade the body and dignity of the victim, such as being raped, stripped of their clothes, mutilated, the body damaged, packed in a sack or other device and thrown to a place outside the scene of the crime such as in a river, sewer or ditch, area rice fields, or on the side of the road.

"So, the atrocity or horror in femicide has existed since long ago. However, we are always shocked when we come across femicide cases again. But we haven't built prevention, especially against domestic violence with femicide," said Aminah.

For this reason, dissemination of information about the cycle of violence and the potential for femicide in domestic violence must be increased. Apart from women, the community, victim service institutions, and also the police. Not only that, the government needs to immediately build a prevention mechanism so that violence in personal relationships does not end in death or what is called a danger assessment (DA).

In actual cases, the victims and their families recognize the depression and behavior changes of the perpetrator (husband) and seek help from healthcare professionals. However, the intervention is not yet precise enough due to the lack of understanding of the potential for violence that will only worsen. In addition, healthcare service providers do not have guidelines to assess the level of danger.

"Therefore, the state must create a danger assessment mechanism. If health workers understand the potential for femicide, the husband will be evacuated to a mental hospital, not just given sedatives," explained Aminah.

Mamik Sri Supatmi, a Criminology lecturer at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Indonesia, reminds all parties to build awareness of continuous respect for the dignity of women. If this is not done, the list of women who fall prey to femicide will continue to grow.