Hundreds of mothers in staged a rally on Friday in an outcry against a string of unsolved rapes of young girls over the past two months.
The group, calling itself the Mothers of Rape Victims Solidarity Movement, also drew in other members of the community.
They called the rape of five schoolgirls, one only seven years old, a tragedy that had affected the whole community.
“These innocent children are forced to carry unbearable burdens because of these monstrous perpetrators,” rally coordinator Ni Wayan Sri Widhiyanti said. “It behooves us all to cry out against these crimes.”
She said a climate of fear had gripped the island, with most mothers worried and frustrated at the police’s inability to solve the cases.
The protesters also attacked what they said was a lack of urgency in stepping up security at schools and for students, and the lack of financial aid for treatment and counseling the victims.
The group called on the Bali Police chief to give the rapes top priority and demanded local authorities beef up security measures for students.
“We also demand that hospitals provide free treatment and counseling for the rape victims,” Legal Aid Foundation director Nengah Budawati said.
The group said it would forward its list of demands and a petition signed by “thousands of supporters” to the Bali governor, Denpasar mayor and provincial and municipal police and education chiefs.
Bintang Puspayoga, wife of the island’s deputy governor, said she sympathized with fellow parents, adding the group’s demands for aid were reasonable.
The group, calling itself the Mothers of Rape Victims Solidarity Movement, also drew in other members of the community.
They called the rape of five schoolgirls, one only seven years old, a tragedy that had affected the whole community.
“These innocent children are forced to carry unbearable burdens because of these monstrous perpetrators,” rally coordinator Ni Wayan Sri Widhiyanti said. “It behooves us all to cry out against these crimes.”
She said a climate of fear had gripped the island, with most mothers worried and frustrated at the police’s inability to solve the cases.
The protesters also attacked what they said was a lack of urgency in stepping up security at schools and for students, and the lack of financial aid for treatment and counseling the victims.
The group called on the Bali Police chief to give the rapes top priority and demanded local authorities beef up security measures for students.
“We also demand that hospitals provide free treatment and counseling for the rape victims,” Legal Aid Foundation director Nengah Budawati said.
The group said it would forward its list of demands and a petition signed by “thousands of supporters” to the Bali governor, Denpasar mayor and provincial and municipal police and education chiefs.
Bintang Puspayoga, wife of the island’s deputy governor, said she sympathized with fellow parents, adding the group’s demands for aid were reasonable.
