By adopting, on April 12, a law against sexual violence after a decade of procrastination and blockages, Indonesia equips the victims with legal weapons, in a long-term fight, thwarted by a heavy patriarchal and Islamic-conservative heritage. . Until now, only rape and sexual assault – with a very restrictive definition – were punishable by the penal code. The new law recognizes nine forms of sexual violence, including physical and non-physical sexual harassment, sexual torture, forced marriage, and cyber sexual harassment. It also includes provisions for the protection and compensation of victims, an advance applauded by women’s rights organizations.
Indonesia, a democracy of 270 million inhabitants, 86% of whom are Muslims, has not escaped local initiatives such as #metoo, which have helped to reveal the gap between the words of the victims and the means at their disposal. to get justice. Part of the youth thus mobilized, in 2019, in favor of a student whose accusations of sexual assault against a student had been taken lightly by the management of her establishment.
Started in 2012 by a state agency, the National Commission for the Eradication of Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan), the bill had been under debate in the Assembly since 2016. It came up against the reluctance of Islamists in particular. -conservatives, in particular from the Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS), a pillar of the opposition, which has never ceased to want ” negotiate “ his support for the law by passing provisions punishing sex outside marriage or what he condemns as “sexual deviance”, in this case homosexuality.
Sordid case of rape in a boarding school
The law obtains a majority in December 2021 – the PKS voting against –, but various ” technical issues “ block its passage during the session. It will be necessary for the Indonesian President, Joko Widodo, to launch an appeal in January on behalf of the urgency of protecting the victims, for the text to be finally adopted on Tuesday.
The president’s involvement and the passage of the law are not unrelated to a sordid rape affair that broke out this winter. A teenage girl’s surprise pregnancy had led to an investigation against the principal of an Islamic boarding school for girls. This one will be finally shown to have raped, during five years, 13 young girls from 11 to 14 years. Nine children have already been born from these attacks. The man was sentenced to life in February. The prosecution then appealed, resulting in his death sentence on April 5, a week before the passage of the new law.
You have 22.31% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.