Minister Nadiem: Mendikbudristek Never Supported Free Sex

Minister of Education and Technology Nadiem Makarim (Irfan Meidianto/VOI)

JAKARTA - Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Mendikbudristek) Nadiem Anwar Makarim said his party never supported free sex or adultery.

“We reiterate that Kemendikbudristek never supports free sex or adultery. No indication whatsoever. The accusation of supporting free sex occurs because of phrases taken out of context", said Nadiem at the launch of Merdeka Learning Episode Fourteen: Merdeka Campus from Sexual Violence in Jakarta, reported by Antara, Friday, November 12.

He added that one of the goals of the Regulation of Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Permendikbudristek) Number 30 of 2021 concerning the Prevention and Handling of Sexual Violence in Higher Education (Permendikbudristek PPKS) is to provide a safe and comfortable education for campus residents.

"The focus of the PPKS Permendikbudristek is to attack the sexual violence pandemic on campus", he added.

Thus, he continued, it does not mean that the phrase with consent is applied outside the context of sexual violence. Nadiem said that his party would cooperate with several parties to share perceptions about it.

The preparation of the Permendikbudristek, he said, was among the longest because it took 1.5 years and more than 20 discussion sessions, public tests, harmonization by involving many parties.

Kemendikbudristek asked campuses to prepare PPKS Task Force soon. If there is a violation within the grace period, it can be accessed through the Report platform.

Permendikbudristek aims to fulfill the right of every citizen to a safe education. Furthermore, the Permendikbudristek aims to tackle sexual violence with an unconstitutional and sustainable approach. This is because the substance of the Permendikudristek provides legal certainty for higher education leaders to take firm steps.

Nadiem added that currently there is no clear legal umbrella for cases of sexual violence that occur on campus. So sometimes, university leaders have difficulty taking decisive steps.