Publications
Summary
These reports highlight issues faced by women and poor communities, including their ability to access justice.
Description
AusAID has supported the development of a range of research reports looking into access to justice in Indonesia. The reports highlight issues faced by women and poor communities, including their ability to access justice. They demonstrate that significant obstacles remain in bringing their family law cases to Indonesia's court system. These include the high costs of court fees, high transportation costs, and low levels of knowledge regarding court processes and services available.
The AusAID funded 2007 Religious Court access and equity report: 'Providing Justice to the Justice Seeker', resulted in the Courts advocating for, and receiving, an 18-fold increase in funding through the state budget to waive court fees and hold circuit courts in remote locations. This translated in a four-fold increase in the number of people living in remote areas who have been able to access the Courts for family law matters.
According to Indonesia's marriage law, women must have their marriage and divorce formally recognised by a court in order to be recognised by the government as heads of households. Without this formal recognition they cannot access Indonesia's pro-poor poverty alleviation programs (free health care, cash transfers and subsidised rice), nor receive birth certificates for their children (now a requirement to register children beyond primary school).
The Women Headed Household Empowerment Group (Pemberdayaan Permepuan Kepala Keluarga or PEKKA) report, 'Access to Justice: Empowering female heads of households in Indonesia' indicates that women bring twice as many divorce cases to the court than men, with domestic violence a factor in 78 per cent of cases. Without support of the Supreme Court to waive court fees or access circuit courts, and the support from civil society groups to help inform women about these services and prepare them for court, many of these women would not bring their cases to court. They would therefore continue not to have access to basic government services and the opportunity to break out of cycles of poverty.
The reports were developed under the Indonesia Australia Legal Development Facility in cooperation with the Supreme Court of Indonesia, the Family Court of Australia, PEKKA, and SMERU Research Institute.
Access to justice: Empowering female heads of household in Indonesia
Access to justice: Empowering female heads of household in Indonesia (English) [PDF 2.2mb]
Pemberdayaan Perempuan Kepala
Keluarga di Indonesia (Bahasa) [PDF 2.2mb]">Akses terhadap Keadilan:
Pemberdayaan Perempuan Kepala
Keluarga di Indonesia (Bahasa) [PDF 2.2mb]
Access to justice: Empowering female heads of household in Indonesia: Case studies
Providing justice to the justice seeker: Indonesian general and religious courts 2007-2009
Providing justice to the justice seeker: A report on the access and equity study in the Indonesian general and religious courts 2007-2009 (English) [PDF 2.9mb]
Pada Pengadilan Negeri dan Pengadilan Agama di Indonesia Tahun 2007-2009 (Bahasa) [PDF 2.9mb]">Memberi Keadilan Bagi Para Pencari Keadilan: Sebuah Laporan Penelitian Tentang Akses dan Kesetaraan
Pada Pengadilan Negeri dan Pengadilan Agama di Indonesia Tahun 2007-2009 (Bahasa) [PDF 2.9mb]
Providing justice to the justice seeker: Indonesian religious courts 2007