Baca berita tanpa iklan. Gabung Kompas.com+

Indonesia's Parliament Passes Landmark Bill on Sexual Violence

April 12, 2022, 05.04 PM

KOMPAS.com - Indonesia’s House of Representatives passed a long-awaited bill to tackle sexual violence on Tuesday, April 12.

The legislation aims to provide a legal framework for victims to secure justice in a country where sexual abuse has often been regarded as a private matter.

A majority of lawmakers backed the bill at the plenary session in parliament on Tuesday, overcoming opposition from some conservative groups in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country.

“We hope that the implementation of this law will resolve sexual violence cases,” Speaker of the House Puan Maharani said.

Also readSpeed Up Passage of Anti-Sexual Violence Bill: Indonesias President Aide

The new law recognizes men and children can be victims of sexual violence.

Indonesia’s criminal code, a legacy of the Dutch colonial era, recognizes only rape and lewd crimes committed by men against women and does not have provisions for restitution or other remedies for victims and survivors.

Nine forms of sexual violence are recognized in the law: physical and non-physical sexual harassment, sexual torture, forced contraception, forced sterilization, forced marriage, sexual slavery, sexual exploitation, and cyber sexual harassment.

In addition to acknowledging sexual violence as a punishable criminal act, the law has provisions for protection and recovery for the victims.

Activists have broadly welcomed the bill, though some have objected to its limited scope.

Only some sex crimes are included and it omits a specific clause on rape, which the government has said will be included in other legislation.

Also readViolence Against Women, Children Surges during Pandemic in Indonesia: Ministry

“This is surely a step forward,” Asfinawati, a law expert at Jentera school of law, who has assisted sexual violence victims, said while noting definitions of rape currently covered under the criminal code should still be made clearer.

Sexual violence complaints have been rising in Indonesia, where prosecuting sex crimes has been complicated by the absence of a dedicated legal framework.

Victims’ concerns of being shamed during questioning have also deterred many from speaking up, according to activists.

Page:


Comment wisely and responsibly. Comments are entirely the responsibility of the commentator as regulated in the ITE Law
Report
Thank You! We have received your report. We will remove comments that conflict with the Community Guidelines and the ITE Law.

More Headlines

News
April 14, 2023, 12.38 PM

Indonesia Detects New Covid Arcturus Variant

Baca berita tanpa iklan. Gabung Kompas.com+
Baca berita tanpa iklan. Gabung Kompas.com+

MOST POPULAR

Baca berita tanpa iklan. Gabung Kompas.com+
Baca berita tanpa iklan. Gabung Kompas.com+
Close Ads
Oke