Consent, Estraga Feto & Decision-Making Agency in Timor-Leste.

Abstract

Sexual violence is a serious problem in Timor-Leste. Drawing on the stories of women survivors of sexual violence and other interviews conducted across TimorLeste since 2008, this paper explores common local understandings of sexual violence as key to enhancing preventative and legal strategies aimed to address this problem. While there are still many questions to be answered, fieldwork indicates that the concept of consent in sexual decision-making is poorly understood, with most community members understanding sexual violence in relation to the locally-used term estraga feto. However, this is misleading as the concept of estraga feto comes from a different paradigm, driven by ideas of family honour which are dependent on unwed women and girls retaining their virginity – and accompanying ideas of ‘lost value’ for women and girls who lose their virginity outside marriage. To challenge the further abuses and victim-blaming that can arise because of this paradigm, such as women and girls being married off to their rapists, subject to further sexual abuse or violence, and/or left with limited future prospects, it would be more useful long-term to educate community members on the concept of consent as a veto in sexual decision-making, and in doing so to refocus the conversation to people’s individual rights under the law.