Mother's Day Momentum, Komnas Perempuan: Women Are Not Safe From The Threat Of Sexual Violence

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JAKARTA - On December 22, 1928, the Women's Congress was held for the first time to discuss the issue of women's rights and protection. Now, women have made progress in various fields. This congress set December 22 as Mother's Day.

However, after 93 years have passed, Indonesian women have not received a sense of security from the threat of violence, especially sexual violence. This was conveyed by Komnas Perempuan Commissioner Alimatul Qibtiyah.

"Komnas Perempuan's 2021 annual records record that throughout 2020 there were 299,991 cases of violence against women reported to various service providers," said Alim in his statement, Wednesday, December 22.

Alim said that sexual violence was the highest reported case of violence, followed by physical, psychological and economic violence. Women with disabilities are not spared from sexual violence. Of the total number of cases of violence against women with disabilities, 79 percent were sexual violence.

Alim also underlined the sexual violence that occurred in the world of education, both at the secondary and higher education levels, both in general education and in religion-based education.

Komnas Perempuan noted that violence in educational institutions accounted for 4.2 percent, and the perpetrators of this sexual violence actually worked as educators, namely teachers, Koran teachers/ustad, religious leaders and lecturers.

"This sexual violence occurs because there is a power relationship between the victim and the perpetrator. Based on a number of existing cases, the new case was revealed a few years later after the perpetrator took many victims," explained Alim.

"The culture of silence due to power relations and intimidation and the erroneous assumption that is still rooted in society regarding sexual violence as a disgrace that must be covered up, causes many victims of violence to not receive protection and justice," he continued. The Draft Law on the Crime of Sexual Violence (RUU TPKS) has never been ratified. In fact, this bill has been proposed by Komnas Perempuan together with the Civil Society Network and Service Provider Forum since 2012 and was included in the Prolegnas of the DPR RI in January 2016.

Because it continues to be a debate, this manuscript falters in the Indonesian House of Representatives for the 2014-2019 period. The bill is then proposed again to the DPR RI for the next period. Unfortunately, it has not been ratified as an initiative bill of the DPR RI until now.

"Differences in viewpoints, which tend to be colored by political interests, seem to close their eyes and ears and ignore the voices of women victims of sexual violence, which are increasingly tragic with increasingly complex impacts," he said.

Therefore, Komnas Perempuan urges the Indonesian House of Representatives and the Government to immediately ratify the Bill on the Crime of Sexual Violence which has been urged by the civil society movement for the last 9 years, considering that Indonesia is in an emergency condition of sexual violence.