앰네스티가 최근 발간한 보고서‘선택 없이 남겨지다: Left Without a Choice‘는 정부의 규제와 차별적인 전통이 수많은 인도네시아 여성과 여아들을 임신과 출산과 관련한 보건 서비스에서 소외시키며 어떻게 이들의 생명을 위협하는지 서술하고 있다. 이 보고서에 따르면 인도네시아의 빈곤 소외지역의 여성들과 여아들은 차별적인 법률, 정책, 그리고 실행으로 인해 생식건강을 확보하지 못하고 있다.
국제앰네스티 살릴 셰티 사무총장은 “인도네시아 정부는 양성평등을 강화할 것을 약속했지만 아직 수많은 여성들은 공정하고 공평한 대우를 받지 못하고 있다”며 “불평등한 상황을 그대로 받아들이는 복합적인 사회적 태도와 불공정한 법률, 그리고 성 역할에 대한 고정관념들이 여성들을 격하하고 있다”고 밝혔다.
국제앰네스티의 조사에 따르면 차별적인 환경과 문제의 소지가 있는 법률 때문에 미혼여성과 아동들이 피임을 할 수 없게 되거나16세 이하 여아들을 조혼으로 내몰리고 있다고 한다. 인도네시아 법에 따르면 여성은 남편의 동의 하에 피임을 할 수 있으며 심지어 생명이 위독할 시에도 남편의 동의 하에 인공 유산을 할 수 있다.
16세 이전의 여아들이 피임기구를 사용할 수 없도록 하고 있다는 것을 보여주고 있다. 또한 법률상 피임기구를 취득하거나 생명의 위험할 시에도 낙태를 하려면 남편의 동의를 받아야 한다.
성폭력 피해여성들을 돕기 위해 정부가 나서고 있지만 피해자들이 보건 정보나 서비스에 접근하는 데는 어려움이 많다. 법률상 성폭행의 결과로 임신을 할 경우 낙태를 할 수 있지만 이러한 사실이 보건 종사자들 사이에서도 잘 알려지지 않아 피해여성들이 고통 받는 경우가 많다.
따라서 국제앰네스티는 인도네시아 당국에 다음의 절차를 신속히 밟을 것을 요청한다.
• 중앙•지역정부 차원에서 여성의 재생산권과 성적권리를 침해하는 법률들을 폐지하고 이들이 강압, 차별, 불법화에 대한 위협 없이 자신들의 권리를 실현할 수 있도록 해야 한다.
• 어떠한 이유에서의 인공유산도 처벌 대상에서 제외하여 불법적이며 안전하지 않은 인공유산을 막고, 여성과 아동이 성폭행 등으로 원치 않는 임신을 하거나 임신으로 인해 생명의 위협이 있을 경우 안전하게 인공유산을 할 수 있도록 해야 한다.
• 가사노동자에 대한 근로기준을 국제기준에 부합하도록 정리해야 하며 모든 가사노동자들이 다른 노동자와 같은 보호를 받으며 임신에 따른 필요를 포함한 특별한 필요들을 충족 시켜야 한다. 
BARRIERS PREVENT INDONESIAN WOMEN FROM ACHIEVING REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
4 November 2010Many Indonesian women and girls, especially those from poor and marginalised communities, struggle to achieve reproductive health in the face of discriminatory laws, policies and practices, a new report by Amnesty International says.
Left Without a Choice describes how government restrictions and discriminatory traditions threaten the lives of many Indonesian woman and girls by putting reproductive health services beyond their reach.
“The Indonesian government has pledged to enhance gender equality, but many Indonesian women still struggle for fair and equal treatment”, said Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s Secretary General. “A combination of unchallenged social attitudes, unfair laws and stereotyped gender roles often relegate women to second-class status.”
Amnesty International research shows how discriminatory practices and problematic laws are restricting access to contraception for unmarried women and girls, and allowing early marriage for girls younger than 16. The law also requires a woman to get her husband’s consent to access certain contraception methods, or an abortion in the event that her life is at risk. Amnesty International also found that health workers frequently deny the full range of legally available contraceptive services to unmarried or childless married women.
Even though the government has taken steps for better protection for women victim of violence, it is failing to ensure that survivors of rape can access health information and services. Although abortion is legally available to women and girls who become pregnant as a result of rape, this fact is not well known, even amongst health workers, and victims of rape can face significant obstacles to accessing safe abortion services.
Interviews with dozens of Indonesian women and girls, as well as health workers, highlighted how these restrictions increase unwanted pregnancies and force many women and girls to marry young or drop out of school.
Many others choose illegal abortions. An estimated 2 million abortions are performed in Indonesia every year, many of them in unsafe conditions. According to official government figures, unsafe abortions are responsible for between five and 11 per cent of maternal deaths in Indonesia.
Sharifah’s case is a typical example. When she became pregnant at 17, her boyfriend left her and her school expelled her. Traditional healers in her village induced an abortion, but she soon developed complications. Two days later she had died from blood loss.
“Restrictions on sexual and reproductive rights are placing severe and potentially deadly obstacles in the way many women and girls can access reproductive health information and services,” says Salil Shetty.
“Indonesia must do more to ensure that old stereotypes and mindsets are replaced with a more forward-looking recognition of the problems and needs facing their wives, sisters and daughters.”
Amnesty International found that some groups of women and girls face additional threats to their sexual and reproductive rights because the state has failed to protect them in vulnerable contexts. Domestic workers, for instance, face specifics risks of abuse because they are not fully legally protected as workers, while their work conditions put them at greater risk of sexual harassment and violence, and they are at risk of abuse at the time of pregnancy.
“The Indonesian government has done a lot to realize its commitment to the Millennium Development Goals, especially for gender equality and maternal health,” said Salil Shetty. “With this report, we’ve highlighted important areas where the law needs reforming, or much better implementation, in order to overcome discriminatory practices and social norms that disempower women and put their health at risk.”
Amnesty International has been campaigning for individuals’ rights to sexual and reproductive health and autonomy – in Indonesia, and around the world – as part of its Demand Dignity campaign. The campaign calls for governments to ensure access for all to sexual and reproductive health information and services free from discrimination, coercion and the threat of criminalization.
Amnesty International calls on the Indonesian authorities to take the following steps as a matter of priority:
– Repeal all laws and regulations, at both the central and local levels, that violate sexual and reproductive rights, ensuring women and girls can realise their rights free from coercion, discrimination and the threat of criminalization.
– Decriminalize abortion under all circumstances in order to combat the high number of illegal and unsafe abortions, ensuring access to safe abortion services in cases when women and girls have unwanted pregnancies as a result of rape, or where a pregnancy poses a threat to the woman’s life or health.
– Enact a Domestic Workers’ law in line with international standards, ensuring that women and girl domestic workers are afforded the same level of protection as other workers in Indonesia and that provisions pertaining to women’s special needs, including maternity provisions are included.
