Australia Helps Indonesia Improve Women`s Access to Justice

The report by a local NGO, Access to Justice: Empowering Female Heads of Household in Indonesia, highlights the issues faced by more than nine million Indonesian women who are the main breadwinners in their households. The research was supported by the Australian Government and the Family Court of Australia.

The report found that more than half of those surveyed live on less than US$2 per day. The report also found these women face many barriers in bringing their family law cases to Indonesia`s court system. This makes it difficult for them to file for divorce, legalise former marriages and, in turn, obtain birth certificates for children from these marriages with both parents` names.

Australia welcomes the increased funding from the state budget to the Indonesian Supreme Court which has helped more than 340 Religious Courts across Indonesia waive court fees for the poor and hold circuit courts in remote areas. These mobile courts have quadrupled the number of poor women who have been able to access the courts.

Monday, July 19, 2010