ABSTRACT
This study focuses on the experience of female victims of domestic violence in seeking justice through Tara Bandu, the Timor-Leste customary law. By adopting as a framework the theory of women’s access to justice, feminist legal theory on the pluralism of law, and the theory of feminist multiculturalism, this research applies a qualitative approach through in-depth interview, observation and document study. The research shows that female victims have a number of legal options by which to resolve their cases. Despite having a legal option through state law, many female victims choose the Tara Bandu system. In so doing, they made their own decisions with, or advised by, family members. This shows that at certain points a woman is a subject of the customary law. They have the chance to choose the justice system, to negotiate and to defend themselves during the process of traditional judgement. Nevertheless, this study also finds that women have not yet had strong positions in Tara Bandu because of the sociocultural and power relations operating within traditional marriage in a patriarchal context. Moreover, although Tara Bandu is widely applied as a traditional justice system, Timor-Leste state law still does not officially recognise Tara Bandu as an alternative mechanism of justice in addressing violence against women.
