Indonesia passes long-awaited sexual violence bill

Indonesia passes long-awaited sexual violence bill

Indonesian lawmakers have passed a long-awaited bill aimed at cracking down on sexual violence in a move welcomed by rights and religious groups.

The bill will provide a legal platform on which often neglected victims can finally win justice, they said.

The House of Representatives passed the bill during an April 12 plenary meeting also attended by Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Bintang Puspayoga and rights activists.

The new law targets nine forms of sexual violence against women and children: physical assault, non-physical sexual harassment, forced contraception, forced sterilization, forced marriage, sexual torture, sexual exploitation, sexual slavery and circulating sexual content without consent online.

Physical assault will carry a sentence of up to 12 years, exploitation has a maximum 15-year term, while forced marriage including those involving minors has a nine-year sentence.

Rape and forced abortion were removed from the bill to prevent overlapping elements in a criminal code bill being deliberated by lawmakers.

“This new law sides with victims, so it will be a strong legal umbrella for law enforcement officers to deal with cases of sexual violence against women and children”

House Speaker Puan Maharani called the passing of the bill “a gift for all Indonesian women and a gift for all Indonesian people and for the development of our nation as it is the fruit of our collaboration and commitment to ending sexual violence in Indonesia.”

The National Commission on Violence against Women first started pushing for legislation in 2012 and a bill was presented to lawmakers in 2016. However, it was stalled because Islamic political parties strongly opposed it, claiming that it was badly worded and too liberal as it implied that any form of consensual sex was acceptable, including gay sex.

Reverend Jeirry Sumampow, spokesman of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia, said the bill was much needed in a country where cases of sexual violence against women and children remained high.

The Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry recorded 10,247 cases against women and 14,517 cases against children in 2021. Of these figures, 15.2 percent and 45.1 percent were sexually motivated.

Many cases often went unreported and were looked upon as a private affair.

“This new law sides with victims, so it will be a strong legal umbrella for law enforcement officers to deal with cases of sexual violence against women and children,” Sumampow said. “We believe it will provide more protection to victims and help reduce sexual violence.”

Azas Tigor Nainggolan, coordinator of the Indonesian bishops’ Advocacy and Human Rights Forum, told UCA News that the new law will make it easier for victims to file police reports and to fight for their rights. However, he lamented that rape and forced abortion were left out.

Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International-Indonesia, called the passing of the bill “a historic moment” but said it was not perfect.

“We urge the government and lawmakers to ensure that articles on rape in the criminal code bill go hand in hand with the new bill, which prioritizes the victims’ rights,” he said.