A female prisoner was sexually assaulted by police while being held in Jayapura from November 2010 to January 2011. She was forced to perform oral sex on three police officers while they were on night watch and while the rest of the female prisoners were asleep.

Responding to the above case, on 25 March 2011, Augustinus Supriyanto and Sylvana Maria Apituley, Commissioners and Members of the Komnas Perempuan Sub-Commission Task Force on Papua met the victim who by then had been moved to the Abepura-Papua Penitentiary (Prison) II.A. This visit was in accordance with Komnas Perepmpuan’s mandate to carry out monitoring and fact finding in order to document of all forms of violence against women and violations of women’s rights which form part of human rights.

At the prison, Komnas Perempuan was received by Drs. Liberty Sitinjak M Si, warden of the Abepura-Papua Prison. During Komnas Perempuan’s monitoring, the warden of Abepura Prison pointed out that regulative efforts continue by maintaining the balance of inmate numbers based on the space available and the separation of male and female prisoners. “We provide female officers to guard female prison cells. Nevertheless, we realise that that we are not able to meet certain special needs of women such as the provision of doctors and nurses, breastfeeding rooms, clean water, women’s sanitary pads and enough spare clothes,” he said.

Komnas Perempuan also met with the victim. In her statement, the victim said that while she was being detained by the Jayapura police, the officers would often sleep in the cells of female prisoners and fondle them while they slept. Specific toilets for women were also not provided. As a result, female prisoners were forced to use the men’s toilet. These conditions would leave female prisoners vulnerable to sexual violence.

With regards to the sexual violence she experienced, the victim often receives intimidation and threats from the families of the perpetrators so that she does not testify. When met, the victim was still traumatised, confused and ashamed of the sexual violence she experienced. The Komnas Perempuan team has also not seen any mechanism that can be used by the prisoners for protection against the acts of violence they experience. (NQ & VS)