Chicha Zaitun Elizabeth, INDONESIA

About Chicha

Chicha is a lawyer based in Batam who handles both criminal and civil cases. She acts as a permanent legal consultant for two private schools and is the administrator of the Kepri Lawyer Club. Additionally, Chicha is on the Board of PERADI, the Indonesian Advocates Association, and is active in the Indonesian Christian Women’s Association. She is committed to improving human rights in Batam and regularly engages in activities with NGOs focused on this mission.

The Challenge

Police abuse, physical assault, and torture during arrest, interrogation, and arbitrary detention are prevalent issues in Indonesia. These abuses are often justified by limited resources, which leads to the deprivation of the accused’s rights. To address this, it is crucial to systematically monitor and disclose such violations to deter police misconduct. Public awareness of legal rights among citizens and justice sector professionals needs to be strengthened to ensure the law is applied professionally. Additionally, improving cooperation between legal sector actors is essential to effectively uphold the rights of the accused.

The Innovation: “Legal Aid and Education for Women as Victims and Perpetrators of Crime”

Chicha’s project aimed to raise awareness about the rights of women and children as both victims and perpetrators of crime. The project sought to educate and foster the commitment of law enforcement officers to uphold the rights of female and child defendants while ensuring coordination of social services to protect the accused. During the project, 150 women received legal consultations, and an additional 50 women were provided with pro bono legal aid and information about their rights. Chicha identified several common factors among these women: they were single mothers who were the primary breadwinners for their families, faced economic difficulties, and often had a history of abuse and exploitation.

Chicha organized several rights awareness events and workshops that reached 300 individuals and conducted a radio campaign, including Q&A sessions for pro bono legal consultations. After meeting with the Officer for Prison Development, Chicha helped establish a “One Stop Love” service that provides legal assistance, religious aid, and other services within the prison to meet the needs of incarcerated women. The program will also profile prison officers and provide capacity-building training to enable them to serve as trained counselors for detainees.