Women in East Timor

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Women in East Timor
Timorese Dancers.jpg
A pair of East Timorese women performing a traditional dance.
General Statistics
Maternal mortality  (per 100,000)300
Women in parliament 38.5% (2012)
Women in labour force38.4% (2011)
Gender Inequality Index [1]
Value0.378 (2021)
Rank89th out of 191
Global Gender Gap Index [2]
Value0.730 (2022)
Rank56th out of 146

The East Timorese people mixed racially with Melanesian and Malay genetically. [3] Most of the East Timorese population are Roman Catholic.

Contents

East Timorese women usually have between 6 and 7 children on average, and based on a UN study, it was found that among those women that were between ages 20 to 24 almost more than half of them had at least one child, and of those, 60 percent had their first child before they were 19. [4] A lot of the East Timorese women were teen mothers and dropped out of high school due to the responsibilities and pressure from having a child. In 2010 the government finally made a new policy that will focus on getting and keeping young mothers in school. This started with a sex education class and a whole transformation of the junior high school curriculum.

There are many rules women in East Timor follow for precaution to not be victims of sexual abuse such as: not being able to show their bare arms, wear low cut tops, short skirts or bikinis. [5] Timorese women were also not allowed to go outside their living area alone, and if they were single they could not be seen alone with a man that is not related to them. The East Timorese women also are expected to be stay at home mothers and can not inherit or own their property.

Apart from these customary concepts, East Timorese women also confront domestic violence. Rape cases and sexual slavery were allegedly committed by East Timorese pro-integration militias during the September 1999 crisis in East Timor. [6] One of the organizations that promote empowerment and foster gender equality for the women of East Timor is the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). [7] In 2010, a law was passed making domestic violence a public crime, but the practice remained prevalent nevertheless. In a 2009–10 Demographic and Health Survey, 36% of married women reported having experienced physical, psychological or sexual violence from their husband or partner, but only 24% reported discussing this with anyone and only 4% reported seeking help from the police. [8] According to the same survey, 71% of men believe that the wife's neglecting children justifies the husband's beating her, while 72% of women believe that a husband is justified in beating his wife if she goes out without informing him. [9] According to activists in non-governmental organizations such as Asisténsia Legál ba Feto no Labarik, domestic violence is severely under-reported and the punishments are not deterrent: in one case, a man who "stabbed his wife in the back of the head and struck her repeatedly with a block of wood, after an argument about feeding their children" only received a suspended jail sentence of seven months. [10]

Sex trafficking

Citizen and foreign women and girls have been victims of sex trafficking in East Timor. [11] [12] They are raped and physically and psychologically harmed in brothels, hotels, homes, and other locations throughout the country. [13]

Politics

Maria Angelina Lopes Saremento, Vice-President of the National Parliament. Maria Angelina Lopes Sarmento.jpg
Maria Angelina Lopes Saremento, Vice-President of the National Parliament.

Women are active in East Timorese politics.

See also

Related Research Articles

Sexual violence is any harmful or unwanted sexual act—or attempt to obtain a sexual act through violence or coercion—or an act directed against a person's sexuality without their consent, by any individual regardless of their relationship to the victim. This includes forced engagement in sexual acts, attempted or completed, and may be physical, psychological, or verbal. It occurs in times of peace and armed conflict situations, is widespread, and is considered to be one of the most traumatic, pervasive, and most common human rights violations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violence against women</span> Violent acts against women and girls

Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), is violent acts primarily committed by men or boys against women or girls. Such violence is often considered a form of hate crime, committed against persons specifically because they are of the female gender, and can take many forms.

Equality Now is a non-governmental organization founded in 1992 to advocate for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women and girls. Equality Now works through public policy channels to create a just world for women and girls. Through a combination of regional partnerships, community mobilization and legal advocacy the organization works to encourage governments to adopt, improve and enforce laws that protect and promote women and girls' rights around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor</span> Independent truth commission in East Timor

The Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor was an independent truth commission established in East Timor in 2001 under the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) and charged to “inquire into human rights violations committed on all sides, between April 1974 and October 1999, and facilitate community reconciliation with justice for those who committed less serious offenses.” The idea of a truth commission in East Timor was first agreed by the National Council of Timorese Resistance in 2000.

Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. Sexual abuse is a term used for a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser. Live streaming sexual abuse involves trafficking and coerced sexual acts, and/or rape, in real time on webcam.

Rape in the Philippines is considered a criminal offense. In Philippine jurisprudence, it is a heinous crime punishable by reclusión perpetua when committed against women. Rape of males is also legally recognized as rape by sexual assault, which is penalized by imprisonment of six to twelve years.

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East Timor is a destination country for women from Indonesia, the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.), Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Timorese women and children are vulnerable to being trafficked from rural areas or from camps for internally displaced persons to Dili with lures of employment and then forced into commercial sexual exploitation. Following the re-establishment of international peacekeeping operations in 2006, several businesses suspected of involvement in sex trafficking have reopened. Widespread internal displacement, poverty, and lack of awareness of trafficking risks could lead East Timor to become a source of vulnerable persons trafficked to other countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domestic violence</span> Abuse of members of the same household

Domestic violence is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. The term "domestic violence" is often used as a synonym for "intimate partner violence", which is committed by one of the people in an intimate relationship against the other person, and can take place in relationships or between former spouses or partners. In its broadest sense, domestic violence also involves violence against children, parents, or the elderly. It can assume multiple forms, including physical, verbal, emotional, economic, religious, reproductive, financial abuse, or sexual abuse, or combinations of these. It can range from subtle, coercive forms to marital rape and other violent physical abuse, such as choking, beating, female genital mutilation, and acid throwing that may result in disfigurement or death, and includes the use of technology to harass, control, monitor, stalk or hack. Domestic murder includes stoning, bride burning, honor killing, and dowry death, which sometimes involves non-cohabitating family members. In 2015, the United Kingdom's Home Office widened the definition of domestic violence to include coercive control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking</span> Trade of humans for exploitation

Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or other forms of commercial sexual exploitation. It is considered a serious violation of human rights and a form of modern slavery. Efforts to combat human trafficking involve international laws, national policies, and non-governmental organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ rights in East Timor</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in East Timor face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in East Timor, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples. Although there is no broad legal protection against discrimination, there are several legal provisions in specific laws that protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights in East Timor</span>

East Timor is a multiparty parliamentary republic with a population of approximately 1.1 million, sharing the island of Timor with Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province. During the 24 years of Indonesian occupation and after the 1999 independence referendum, pro Indonesian militias committed many human rights violations. The country gained independence in 2002, and free and fair elections were held in 2007. The United Nations Integrated Mission in East Timor (UNMIT) and the International Stabilization Force remain in the country while it develops its own security forces, the National Police (PNTL) and Defence Forces (F-FDTL).

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex trafficking in East Timor</span>

Sex trafficking in East Timor is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and slavery that occurs in the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste.

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References

  1. "Human Development Report 2021/2022" (PDF). HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORTS. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  2. "Global Gender Gap Report 2022" (PDF). World Economic Forum. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  3. "East Timor Demographics". www.easttimorgovernment.com. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  4. Hays, Jeffrey. "WOMEN IN EAST TIMOR | Facts and Details". factsanddetails.com. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  5. Hays, Jeffrey. "WOMEN IN EAST TIMOR | Facts and Details". factsanddetails.com. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  6. Women's Situation, East Timor
  7. Crook, Matt. Women Learn the Political Ropes, Rights-East Timor
  8. "BREAKING THE CYCLE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN TIMOR- LESTE" (PDF). UNDP. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  9. "Timor-Leste strives to overcome culture of domestic violence". The Guardian. 24 August 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  10. "Domestic violence laws in East Timor failing to protect women, perpetrators often unpunished, NGOs say". ABC News. ABC. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  11. "2019 Trafficking in Persons Report: Timor-Leste". U.S. Department of State. 2019.
  12. "10 FACTS ABOUT HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN TIMOR-LESTE" (PDF). IOM. 2018.
  13. "Putting a Face on Pain: Innovative Training to Fight Trafficking in Timor Leste". International Organization for Migration. July 19, 2016.

Further reading