PHM-Exch> AMNESTY - Maternal Health in Indonesia

[Claudio Schuftan]

--From: PHM Global Secretariat <globalsecretariat at phmovement.org>
Date: Thu, Nov 18, 2010 at 1:44 PM
Subject: Fwd: AMNESTY - Maternal Health in Indonesia
To: Claudio Schuftan <cschuftan at phmovement.org>, Claudio Schuftan
schuftan at gmail.com


 From: Carole Marzolf <carole_marzolf at yahoo.com>


As the People's Health Movement has been developing health programs in the
Asia Pacific, Amnesty International would like to share with you our latest
report, called ‘Left without a Choice: Barriers to Maternal Health in
Indonesia’:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA21/013/2010/en/e0a63801-83d1-46b6-bc37-7cde2aa74daa/asa210132010en.pdf


<http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA21/013/2010/en/e0a63801-83d1-46b6-bc37-7cde2aa74daa/asa210132010en.pdf>


We would like to encourage you to raise the concerns addressed in this
report with your counterparts in Indonesia.




Any comment or feedback on this report would also be highly appreciated.


Amnesty International USA
Indonesia country specialist
E-mail : carole_marzolf at yahoo.com

------------------------------

*Barriers prevent Indonesian women from achieving reproductive health*

***Indonesian laws need to be reformed to help overcome discriminatory
practices*

4 November 2010

Many Indonesian women and girls, especially those from poor and marginalised
communities, struggle to achieve reproductive health in the face of
discriminatory laws, policies and practices, a new report by Amnesty
International says.

*Left Without a Choice* describes how government restrictions and
discriminatory traditions threaten the lives of many Indonesian woman and
girls by putting reproductive health services beyond their reach.

“The Indonesian government has pledged to enhance gender equality, but many
Indonesian women still struggle for fair and equal treatment”, said Salil
Shetty, Amnesty International’s Secretary General. “A combination of
unchallenged social attitudes, unfair laws and stereotyped gender roles
often relegate women to second-class status.”

Amnesty International research shows how discriminatory practices and
problematic laws are restricting access to contraception for unmarried women
and girls, and allowing early marriage for girls younger than 16. The law
also requires a woman to get her husband’s consent to access certain
contraception methods, or an abortion in the event that her life is at risk.
Amnesty International also found that health workers frequently deny the
full range of legally available contraceptive services to unmarried or
childless married women.

Even though the government has taken steps for better protection for women
victim of violence, it is failing to ensure that survivors of rape can
access health information and services. Although abortion is legally
available to women and girls who become pregnant as a result of rape, this
fact is not well known, even amongst health workers, and victims of rape can
face significant obstacles to accessing safe abortion services.

Interviews with dozens of Indonesian women and girls, as well as health
workers, highlighted how these restrictions increase unwanted pregnancies
and force many women and girls to marry young or drop out of school.

Many others choose illegal abortions. An estimated 2 million abortions are
performed in Indonesia every year, many of them in unsafe conditions.
According to official government figures, unsafe abortions are responsible
for between five and 11 per cent of maternal deaths in Indonesia.

Sharifah’s case is a typical example. When she became pregnant at 17, her
boyfriend left her and her school expelled her. Traditional healers in her
village induced an abortion, but she soon developed complications. Two days
later she had died from blood loss.

“Restrictions on sexual and reproductive rights are placing severe and
potentially deadly obstacles in the way many women and girls can access
reproductive health information and services,” says Salil Shetty.

“Indonesia must do more to ensure that old stereotypes and mindsets are
replaced with a more forward-looking recognition of the problems and needs
facing their wives, sisters and daughters.”

Amnesty International found that some groups of women and girls face
additional threats to their sexual and reproductive rights because the state
has failed to protect them in vulnerable contexts. Domestic workers, for
instance, face specifics risks of abuse because they are not fully legally
protected as workers, while their work conditions put them at greater risk
of sexual harassment and violence, and they are at risk of abuse at the time
of pregnancy.

“The Indonesian government has done a lot to realize its commitment to the
Millennium Development Goals, especially for gender equality and maternal
health,” said Salil Shetty. “With this report, we’ve highlighted important
areas where the law needs reforming, or much better implementation, in order
to overcome discriminatory practices and social norms that disempower women
and put their health at risk.”

Amnesty International has been campaigning for individuals’ rights to sexual
and reproductive health and autonomy – in Indonesia, and around the world –
as part of its Demand Dignity campaign. The campaign calls for governments
to ensure access for all to sexual and reproductive health information and
services free from discrimination, coercion and the threat of
criminalization.

Amnesty International calls on the Indonesian authorities to take the
following steps as a matter of priority:

   - Repeal all laws and regulations, at both the central and local levels,
   that violate sexual and reproductive rights, ensuring women and girls can
   realise their rights free from coercion, discrimination and the threat of
   criminalization.
   - Decriminalize abortion under all circumstances in order to combat the
   high number of illegal and unsafe abortions, ensuring access to safe
   abortion services in cases when women and girls have unwanted pregnancies as
   a result of rape, or where a pregnancy poses a threat to the woman’s life or
   health.
   - Enact a Domestic Workers’ law in line with international standards,
   ensuring that women and girl domestic workers are afforded the same level of
   protection as other workers in Indonesia and that provisions pertaining to
   women’s special needs, including maternity provisions are included.

*
Amnesty International's work on sexual and reproductive health is part of
its Demand Dignity campaign, calling for an end to the human rights
violations that drive and deepen poverty. The campaign mobilizes people all
over the world to demand that governments, corporations and others who have
power listen to the voices of those living in poverty and recognize and
protect their rights.*

*READ MORE*
*New Report:
*Left without a choice: barriers to reproductive health in
Indonesia<http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA21/013/2010/en/e0a63801-83d1-46b6-bc37-7cde2aa74daa/asa210132010en.pdf>(Report,
4 November 2010)
*Previous Reports:*
Indonesian woman persecuted for 'shame' of being raped and
pregnant<http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/indonesian-woman-tells-expulsion-village-shame-being-raped-and-pregnant-2010-11-04>(Report
case study, 4 November 2010)
Indonesia: Unfinished business: Police accountability in
Indonesia<http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA21/013/2009/en>(Report,
23 June 2009)
Indonesia: Exploitation and abuse: the plight of women domestic
workers<http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA21/001/2007>(Report,
14 February 2007)
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