GEN-ID 🇮🇩 | Jakarta, January 6, 2022
- The increasing number of cases of sexual violence and the worsening
condition of this issue in recent times have moved many parties to
ratify the Draft Law on the Crime of Sexual Violence (RUU TPKS) as soon
as possible.
The crisis received a good response from the government on Tuesday (4/1).
President
Joko Widodo delivered a statement confirming that the protection of
victims of sexual violence needs to be a popular concern, especially
sexual violence against women and children which urgently be addressed
immediately. To that end, the President is pushing for the acceleration
of ratification of the TPKS Bill, which is still in process.
President
Joko Widodo's statement received a good appreciation from the
Chairwoman of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani.
She appreciated the positive response of the President who pushed for
the acceleration of the ratification of the TPKS Bill and emphasized the
commitment of the DPR RI to work together with the government to
accelerate the ratification of the TPKS Bill, which was expected by the
public.
Puan ensured that DPR would soon ratify the TPKS Bill as
an initiative of the DPR. Puan herself has repeatedly stated that DPR
is ready to work quickly so that the TPKS Bill can be passed. "The
Legislative Body (Baleg) of the DPR RI has completed the discussion of
the TPKS Bill. The ratification of the TPKS Bill as an initiative of the
DPR will be carried out in a plenary meeting after the recess and then
we will send it to the Government so that it can be followed up on level
II discussions," she said.
Puan also welcomed President
Jokowi's move to inquire the Government Task Force to handle the TPKS
Bill and prepare a Problem Inventory List/Daftar Inventarisasi Masalah
(DIM) for the draft prepared by the DPR.
"We hope that Mr.
President's positive response will be followed up by sending a Surpres
(Presidential Letter) after the TPKS Bill so that it will be a legal
initiative of the DPR," said Puan.
The DPR RI ensures that it is
ready to discuss the TPKS Bill with the government in the future. Puan
expected the Government to have the same commitment in carrying out the
discussion, considering that the TPKS Bill is very much needed because
cases of sexual violence in Indonesia are already extremely concerning.
Appreciation
was also conveyed by the National Commission on Violence Against Women
(Komnas Perempuan) in a statement that was launched immediately after
the President's statement was delivered.
In a statement prepared
jointly by several commissioners, including Andy Yentriyani, Maria
Ulfah Ansor, Rainy Hutabarat, Alimatul Qibtiyah, Siti Aminah Tardi and
Olivia Chadidjah Salampessy, they stated that the President's statement
was important and had been eagerly awaited considering the spike in case
reports and the complexity of sexual violence that has occurred in
educational institutions in recent times is an indication of an
emergency of sexual violence.
According to Komnas Perempuan,
these cases are a bad precedent because educational institutions and the
family sphere, which should be a safe space for each individual to
optimally develop their potential, have become places where cases of
sexual violence occur. At the same time, the responsiveness regarding
cases of sexual violence is very limited both in terms of legal content,
structure, and culture, as well as services available to support
victims of sexual violence is still concentrated in Java.
The
postponement of the discussion and ratification of the TPKS Bill, as
stated by Komnas Perempuan, will cause more victims to be denied their
rights and will worsen the victim's condition, some even commit suicide
and experience acute mental disorders. Delaying the discussion of the
TPKS Bill will also worsen the already very limited prevention power.
Bintang Alief P
Student of POLTEK APP Jakarta
