Fair Treatment to the Humanity.
By: Cindy Indira
Tags: Human Rights, Violence Against Women, Women Rights, Humanity, Violence

This morning I read a very philosophical as well as an interesting question,

Do you believe that violence is a” natural “part of being human? If so, why do you think so?

If not, why do you think violence, especially against women, is so prevalent in human society?

This question makes me think back to the old debates that carried out by lot of philosophers over the centuries, Aristoteles argued that morality is learned, and that we’re born as “amoral creatures” while Sigmund Freud considered new-borns a moral blank slate. Hobbes describes humans as ‘nasty’ and ‘brutish’, needing society and rules to reign in their instincts in order to thrive

Later Rousseau openly criticized him, arguing instead that man would be gentle and pure without the corruption of greed and inequality caused by the class system imposed by our society. It is still a great conversation to discuss whether a human were born naturally good or bad, so to answer the first question, I will draw on a study conducted by the Infant Cognition Center at Yale University.

Their research shows that babies will take on traits from their caregivers. In order to that, I believe that violence is a natural part of being human, because a child has the right to choose what kind of “caregiver” character to guide his life. However, the violence must be adapted to the place and circumstances. Violence against the natural person is still not allowed.

Violence against women is a major public health problems and violations of women’s human rights. WHO indicates that at least 1 in 3 women worldwide have experienced either physical and / or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime. Besides, According to the Annual Notes of the National Commission on Violence Against Women in Indonesia, cases of violence against women are an important issue in Indonesia. In fact, the number of cases of violence against women was increased by 6% in 2019, which amounted to 431.471, this number also increased compared to the previous year which amounted to 406.178. Around 75% of the cases are cases of domestic abuse.

By law, Indonesia has passed law №23 of 2004 on the Elimination of Domestic Violence but still, it remains as the most handled cases every year, especially in the COVID-19 pandemic where everyone is at home.

Sheila (an alias) said that this pandemic was a great suffering for her. Since her brother and father returned to their house due to losing their job, Indah became the target of her sibling’s anger, even at the point where she had to lock her door because she was afraid that her brother would kill her while she was sleeping.

Domestic abuse happened because some people or even the victims think that the moment they wanted to report this violence to the authorities, this kind of violence is still considered as a “disgrace” for the family itself. Which can discredit their family name in the society. This private sphere has always been a problem in resolving domestic violence cases. Reporting this violence has become a taboo subject to reveal to the public.

The importance of a knowledge for gender equality and a sense of belonging to each other is one of the answers to this case. The social construction that makes men play a “stronger” role than women makes some men out there doing an abuse of power. as well, from a religious perspective, it also teaches that the role of a wife should always follow what her husband commands.

Gender stereotypes that have been attached to men and women, often trap both sexes in a difficult position. If inequality and injustice in placing the positions of men and women are the constructs of society, then violence is part of that construction.

Society is responsible for learning about how to be male, so that men actualize their masculinity through a macho, manly, strong, and aggressive self-image. So now is the time for society to change this gender labeling to be more humane, so that ways of self-actualization also become more assertive in society.

Thus, gender justice as a condition and fair treatment of women and men can be realized.