The Women and Children’s Legal Aid Service (ALFeLa) has provided free legal assistance to 517 young girls who were victims of sexual and physical abuse since it was established in 2005.
Acting Director Marcelina Amaral said ALFeLa played an important role in explaining the court process for victims as many did not understand judicial terms and how the system functioned.
“We provide legal counseling to victims if they do not understand the procedures and the system of formal justice,” Amaral said at her office in Vila Verde, Dili.
She said ALFeLa had registered 517 cases between 2005 and May 2016, involving sexual abuse, domestic violence and incest among others.
Of those, a final decision was pending in 128 cases, while others were still with the prosecutor’s office or police. A number of cases also had to be closed as authorities had lost contact with the victims.
“If they (victims) tell the truth what happens to them then the decision can be changed because the Judge should listen to the proof [and] then link with the law when making a decision [on the case],” she said.
She said that one of the main obstacles to justice was that victims often forgot crucial details due to the length of time it took to process cases and this often impacted on the final decision.
She said the victims were referred to ALFeLa through the Vulnerable Person’s Unit (VPU), PRADET shelter and child protection personnel in the municipalities.
ALFeLa is a local organization providing free legal advice and helping victims of gender-based violence navigate the formal justice system.
Meanwhile, President of the Timor-Leste Parliamentary Women’s Group (GMPTL) MP Florentina Smith was concerned by the increasing numbers of cases involving children being reported by civil societies across the country every year.
“I do not know why. Is our country too free or is there a lack of moral education within the family?” she said.
Therefore, she said, the solution needed from all entities especially the church, government, family, and the societies to prevent and protect the children from the violence.
She called for the laws to be modified and an article added to the penal code to criminalize the incest, describing it as a brutal crime.
She said the GMPTL wanted the re-examine the penal code as it did not give impose enough sanctions for perpetrators of incest.
