Evangelische Bank eG
IBAN: DE85 5206 0410 0000 0001 24
BIC: GENODEF1EK1
Indonesia: Safety for Women and Girls
Indonesia: Safety for Women and Girls
Domestic violence, human trafficking or forced prostitution: violence against women in Indonesia comes in many guises. With the "MBM Safe House", the Maha Bhoga Marga Foundation (MBM) of the Christian Protestant Church in Bali (GKPB) is actively furthering the rights and providing protection for women at risk.
For a long time, Bali was considered a destination for dream holidays and tourism meant a secure source of income for many Balinese people. However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought dramatic changes. The guests stopped coming and the restrictions forced whole families to stay at home. This not only had dramatic economic consequences, but also led to an increase in alcoholism and domestic violence against women and children. There was also an increase in the number of sexual abuses and pregnancies involving underage girls.
Violence increased during the COVID-19 pandemic
The coronavirus aggravated the situation for women and children in Bali. Domestic violence, human trafficking or forced prostitution existed there even before the pandemic. But despite this, the provincial and district governments of Bali have not yet opened any shelters to date.
In the end, the fate of a single woman set the project of a women's shelter in motion. The Balinese police had filed a complaint against the homeless woman. She was living on the street because she had run away from domestic violence. The Maha Bhoga Marga Foundation (MBM) of the Christian Protestant Church in Bali (GKPB) then recognised the need for a safe place where girls and women can obtain protection, counselling and help.
Indonesia
Every 40 minutes, a woman in Indonesia is a victim of sexual violence.
The Safe House: protection for victims of violence and harassed women
The "MBM Safe House" offers a refuge for 25 women and children who have been traumatised by domestic violence, human trafficking or forced prostitution. They receive counselling and, if necessary, treatment and help. The safe house provides them with all the necessities of life such as food, clothing and shelter. In many cases, they also need legal counselling. They learn to deal with their problems in such a way that they are empowered and receive further training so that they can stand on their own two feet financially.
Empowering the women is a long and difficult process. Through the support they receive at the "Safe House", the women can become stronger personalities capable of solving their own problems. In cooperation with other church institutions, the women's children are given the chance of attending school. For younger women and girls, the project team offers training courses to become financially independent of their husbands or pimps. This is often a vital factor for the women to enable them to escape a violent environment.
Besides the care provided at the "Safe House", what is needed is a whole network of police, hospitals and government agencies. The Safe House is unique of its kind and serves as a model for other projects.
Project goals
The "MBM Safe House" offers a refuge for 25 women and children who have been traumatised by domestic violence, human trafficking or forced prostitution. They receive counselling and, if necessary, treatment and help. They learn to deal with their problems in such a way that they are empowered and receive further training so that they can stand on their own two feet financially – if possible, outside the tourism industry, which is still struggling to survive after the pandemic and offers no prospects. The aim is to reintegrate them into society and, if possible, reunite them with their families.
Project work
At the “Safe House”, the women and children first receive all-round care concerning their mental, psychological and physical health and are provided with all the necessities of life such as food, clothing and shelter. In many cases, they also need legal counselling. By offering schooling for their children and training courses for young women, they can take a more self-determined step in life and become re-integrated in their community. A visiting service is provided for women who live further away. This service also carries out work to raise awareness to this problem in the communities.
Project partner
The majority of the approximately 2.5 million people in Bali are Hindus. Christians make up only a small percentage of the population. About 11,500 people belong to the Christian Protestant Church in Bali (GKPB). In the past, the Hindus reacted with hostility to the foreign religion, which was perceived as western. In the meantime, however, the GKPB has become indigenous and tries to serve not only its communities but the whole of society. It runs schools, healthcare services and a hotel management school which maintains the ethical principles and preserves its cultural values of Bali, a country whose economy is heavily reliant on tourism.
Donation Account
We are pleased to hear that you are interested in this project. If you have any general questions, please use the contact form below. We are also happy to help you personally if you have any questions or require further information – by phone or by E-mail.
Djoko P. A. Wibowo
Liaison Secretary Indonesia
+49 711 636 78 -36
wibowo@ems-online.org
More Projects
