Luh De Suryani, THE JAKARTA POST, DENPASAR | Sat, 01/17/2009 5:24 PM
Amidst rising public awareness of domestic abuse in Bali, Sanglah General Hospital, the island's largest medical facility, has opened a counseling center and a hotline for victims of such crimes.
Sanglah hospital officials said that the counseling center and hotline would help victims cope with their trauma and assist police in solving domestic abuse cases.
"We can't stand by as providers of forensic evidence, victims need to provide psychological evidence *to prosecute*, and thus, they need psychological treatment," I Gusti Rai Tirta, head of the Denpasar chapter of the Indonesian Psychiatric Association (PDSKJ), said at the opening of the counseling center on Friday.
"It's also important for the police to have an analysis of the victim's psyche and their medical psychology history."
According to the latest survey on mental health in Bali, conducted in 2005, about 4 percent of the population, or 120,000 Balinese, have a mental disorder. Depression, suicidal tendencies, phobia and pathologic gambling are among the problems.
About 7,000 people surveyed were described as clinically insane.
"Recent observations suggested that this number has increased and problems have worsened as more psychological cases have turned into suicide cases," Rai Tirta said.
He said that, bases on the cases the hospital handles, perpetrators of domestic abuse tend to have mental disorders.
Last year, the hospital received 48 requests from domestic abuse victims for forensic evidence, representing a growth in the number of victims who wish to prosecute. Out of those requests, two victims were being treated for psychological trauma.
Lely Setyawati, a psychiatrist from the Medical Faculty of the Udayana University, stressed the importance of victims' report in domestic abuse cases, adding that she was impressed with the number of victims who reported cases last year.
"Before, domestic abuse victims would have never said they were victims when they asked to be examined," Lely said.
"They would say their injuries were caused by accidents.
"Especially women, who tend to cover up domestic violence," she said.
She supported the opening of the hotline, saying that women would now be able to consult experts without having to first to discuss with their families.
"Indonesian amilies tend to see domestic violence as a natural thing and not a pathological thing," she said.
People seeking counseling or who want to report domestic abuse can refer to the Sanglah psychiatric medical facility, call 0361-228824 between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. or email: psychiatry_denpasar@yahoo.com.
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