Highlights Of Brothers And Sisters Raped By 13 Tetanggga, Commission VIII DPR Proposes Special Unit For Sexual Violence Courts

Illustration of sexual violence. (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Member of Commission VIII DPR, Selly Andriany Change highlighted the case of a brother and sister who were victims of the rape of 13 neighboring men in Purworejo, Central Java. He suggested that there be a special unit to monitor the trial of sexual violence to protect victims.

"We encourage that the supervision of the performance of law enforcement officers be maximized, especially in cases of sexual violence against children. The handling of cases in Purworejo has been delayed as a moment of improving the law enforcement system in Indonesia," said Selly Andriany Change, Monday, November 4.

Selly emphasized that the police must apply Law No. 12 of 2022 concerning the Crime of Sexual Violence (TPKS) in handling the rape case of the two brothers.

"So the application of the Child Protection Law alone is not enough. The police must apply the TPKS Law so that the punishment for the perpetrators is maximized because what they do is very barbaric," he said.

Selly also highlighted how the victim stated that she was forced to marry in a serial manner with one of the perpetrators. He said, in Article 10 paragraph (1) and (2) the TPKS Law regulates the threat of criminal punishment for parties who force victims of sexual violence to marry the perpetrators.

"We deeply regret the forced marriage of the victim to the perpetrator. This can be subject to criminal penalties based on the TPKS Law," said Selly.

Furthermore, Selly said that the case received by the brothers was not the first to happen. In fact, he said, many women and children in Indonesia were victims of violence and rape but did not dare to report.

Selly explained that data from the 2023 Komnas Perempuan Annual Records showed that the most common perpetrators of sexual violence were those closest to the victim, with his ex-girlfriend leading the number (550 cases), followed by a boyfriend (462 cases) and husband (174 cases). Meanwhile, the number of gender-based violence in the public sphere that was reported to Komnas Perempuan was 1,271 cases in 2023.

Therefore, Commission VIII of the DPR in charge of child protection and women asked the Government to focus on handling cases of sexual violence. Selly said cases of sexual violence in Indonesia had become an ever-increasing iceberg phenomenon.

"The government and the institutions of law enforcement should give high priority to cases of sexual violence against children and women, both to prevent prolonged trauma for victims and to provide a sense of justice to the community," he explained.

As is known, the public was shocked by the rape case against the brothers and sisters with the initials DSA (15) and KSH (17) in Purworejo Regency. The two were raped by 13 neighboring men throughout 2023 in different periods of time and conditions.

DSA was finally pregnant and has now given birth to this series of rapes. The case was not handled by the Purworejo Police because the families of the victims and perpetrators resolved the case amicably, facilitated by the local village government.

The Central Java Regional Police then took over the case after it went viral and has now examined the witnesses but has not yet named a suspect.

Meanwhile, based on the victim's statement, the perpetrators fed them with alcohol while carrying out their actions. The victim was also often dragged, abused, and forced to have intercourse.

The victim was initially afraid to reveal what happened because the perpetrator threatened to distribute their video of the attack. In addition, the victim also admitted that he had been held captive for several days while being raped, until he was sold by the perpetrator to a masher.