ARROW and partners strongly condemn the six-month imprisonment of a 15-year-old girl in Indonesia for having an abortion, after she became pregnant due to being repeatedly raped by her older brother.[1] Restrictive abortion laws in Indonesia only permit abortion to either save the life of the mother or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, but only within the first six weeks of pregnancy.[2] This 15-year-old-girl not only had to undergo the trauma of sexual violence inflicted upon her by a family member, but also had to go through the ordeal of an illegal and most likely unsafe abortion after getting pregnant, because it fell outside the incredibly short window of six weeks, when abortion is legal on the grounds of rape and incest in Indonesia. Six weeks is calculated from last menstrual period (LMP), which is essentially missing one period – a common occurrence for most women and girls and a time too short to detect pregnancy.
This 15-year-old girl is not a criminal. And yet, she is one of the many women and girls around the world who face a jail term for simply trying to access their reproductive right. Research has consistently indicated that banning or severely restricting abortion does not reduce the incidents of abortion. Instead, it affects the safety of the procedure[3] leading to both an increase in mortality and morbidity. According to the Indonesian Health Ministry, abortions constitute 30 to 50 per cent of Indonesia’s total number of maternal deaths.[4] Restrictive legal frameworks driven by moral and religious arguments[5] also seep into the psyche of society further entrenching abortion into a web of stigma, which makes it very difficult for women and especially girls to access abortion information and services, even when it is legal.[6]
Adolescent girls are more vulnerable, especially in the absence of the availability of comprehensive sexuality education, to sexual violence and pregnancies and STIs including HIV as a result of sexual violence. Adolescent girls also are unaware of their rights and unfortunately are usually powerless to negotiate within their families and communities, and to seek recognition for the wrongs that have been perpetrated against them.
In the situation of this particular adolescent girl, she bears the burden of being a rape survivor, and an incest survivor. A pregnancy as a result of her rape only further compounds her vulnerabilities. In such a situation, the procurement of abortion services should be seen as therapeutic to her situation.
Minor children need protection, not imprisonment. #SafeAbortionNOW
Endorsed by:
- Asian- Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW)
- Shirkat Gah Women’s Resource Centre, Pakistan
- Federation of Reproductive Health Association Malaysia (FRHAM)
- YUWA, Nepal
- The YP Foundation, India
- LOOM, Nepal
- Likhaan Center for Women’s Health, Philippines
- Centre for Creative Initiatives in Health and Population (CCIHP), Vietnam
- Solidarity Alliance for the Right to Safe Abortion
- Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR)
- Naripokkho, Bangladesh
- Beyond Beijing Committee (BBC), Nepal
- CommonHealth, India
- Reproductive Health Association Cambodia (RHAC)
- Philippines Safe Abortion Advocacy (Pisan)
- Young Advocates for SRHR
- Rural Women’s Social Education Centre (RUWSEC), India
- Gramin Punarnirman Sansthan, India
- Sahayog, India
- Society for Health Education (SHE), Maldives
- Faculty of Postgraduate Studies, University Health Science, Lao PDR
- Yayasan Jurnal Perempuan (YJP), Indonesia
- RHRN Indonesia
- Aliansi Remaja Independent (ARI), Indonesia
- Aliansi Satu Visi (ASV), Indonesia
- Ardhanary Institute (AI), Indonesia
- Fokus Muda, Indonesia
- Perkumpulan Keluarga Berencana Indonesia (PKBI)
- Perkumpulan Pamflet Generasi, Indonesia
- Pusat Kajian Gender dan Seksualitas (Puksa Genseks) UI, Indonesia
- Rutgers WFP Indonesia
- Sanggar SWARA, Indonesia
- Yayasan Kesehatan Perempuan (YKP), Indonesia
- Forum Remaja Independen Papua (FRIP), Indonesia
- Youth Interfaith Forum on Sexuality (YIFoS), Indonesia
- Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN), Global
- Bangladesh Association for Prevention of Septic Abortion (BAPSA), Bangladesh
- Society for Health Alternatives (SAHAJ), India
[1]https://www.news.com.au/world/asia/indonesian-teenager-raped-by-her-brother-jailed-for-abortion/news-story/79b303a9281c72459aaed36a7e6d6e16
[2] Fanny Tanuwijaya, Abortion on Law and Moral Perspectives in Indonesia, Journal of Law, Policy and Globalization, (2014), Vol. 28, ISSN 2224-3259
[3] Camila Gianella-Malca and Liv Tonnessen, Health effects of criminalisation of abortion, Conference Paper, GLOBVAC Conference 2015
[4] http://asap-asia.org/pdf/Indonesia_Abortion_Booklet_Update.pdf
[5] Ibid.
[6] Cockrill K, Herold S, Blanchard K, Grossman D, Upadyay U, Baum S. Addressing abortion stigma through service delivery: A white paper, 2015, Ibis Reproductive Health
