Project Description
Year: 2023
Amount: € 1.500,-
Location: Jayapura
Kristina Soge provides legal assistance to victims of domestic violence.
Our scholarship coordinator in Papua regularly receives applications from students. Kristina’s (24) stood out from the crowd. After a conversation with her and after evaluation, it was clear: this brave and motivated woman deserves a scholarship. Just read her story.
I was born and raised in a simple family in Arso. When my father passed away in October 2018, I decided to earn a living as the eldest of the family (with four children). My mother remarried the following year and left her children to fend for themselves. To pay the school fees for my brothers and sisters, I started working for West Papua Updates, a media company for critical journalists. I made documentaries and participated in all kinds of projects. In 2021 I decided to study law at Cenderawasih University. These days I mainly orient myself towards criminology. And there is a reason as to why. In my immediate environment I am confronted with (domestic) violence almost every day, especially against women and children. More often than before, the victims and those around them do not give up and go to court. Because legal knowledge is often lacking, lawsuits end in nothing. I try to assist the victims (often good acquaintances or girlfriends) in court. That’s how I earn an income. But more knowledge and experience is needed to curb domestic violence even more effectively. Therefore, I would like to become a registered lawyer and complete my studies. This way I can contribute to a safer society. Convictions provide deterrence and the perpetrators realize that violence does not go unpunished.
