Look Again At Why The PKS Bill Is Considered Important To Enter The 2020 Priority Prolegnas

Sexual harassment illustration (geralt / Pixabay)

JAKARTA - The Bill on the Elimination of Sexual Violence (RUU PKS) was withdrawn from the 2020 Priority National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) list because the discussion was deemed difficult. This reason was later protested by a number of parties, because the presence of the PKS Bill was considered important to handle cases of sexual violence.

Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian Parliament Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said that the withdrawal of the PKS Bill made sense because the process was polemic.

"The PKS Bill has generated polemics in society and then also among women and this has been a very long polemic," said Dasco to reporters in Jakarta, Wednesday, July 1.

He asked the public not to be reactive. This is because this bill has not been officially issued from the 2020 Priority Prolegnas.

"Regarding the repeal of the bill, the Legislative Body will close with the government to discuss this matter. If this is agreed upon, then Baleg will withdraw through the mechanism," he said adding that after it was withdrawn, this bill would be included in the Priority Prolegnas in 2021.

The polemic about the PKS Bill began when the DPR RI Legislation Body (Baleg) asked Commission VIII DPR RI to issue the carry-over bill from the 2020 Priority Prolegnas. Commission VIII approved it.

However, some time ago, Deputy Chairperson of Commission VIII Marwan Daposang withdrew the PKS Bill from the 2020 Priority Prolegnas on the grounds that the discussion was difficult. The PKS Bill is an initiative of the DPR.

"The Bill on the Elimination of Sexual Violence because the discussion is rather difficult, we will withdraw it (from the 2020 Priority Prolegnas, red)," said Marwan in a coordination meeting with all commissions to discuss the evaluation of the 2020 Priority Prolegnas at the Parliament Building, Senayan, Jakarta, Tuesday, June 30.

Regrettable a number of parties

The withdrawal of this law from the Priority Prolegnas was regretted by the Commissioner of the National Commission for Women (Komnas) Bahrul Fuad.

"The presence of the PKS Bill is very important for handling cases of sexual violence, whose trends are always increasing and in varying forms. The presence of the PKS Bill also has a very important role in protecting women from vulnerable groups such as women with disabilities," Bahrul said when contacted by VOI, Wednesday, July 1st.

Komnas Perempuan noted that during the 12 year period, sexual violence against women reached 431,471 cases by the end of 2019. So it is important, there are laws that regulate the handling of cases of sexual violence.

Not only about ensnaring perpetrators of sexual violence, this PKS Bill also focuses on protecting and restoring the rights of victims of sexual violence and protecting them.

Bahrul said, of all acts of sexual violence he had handled, the most difficult was the problem of recovery. Because in the Criminal Code (KUHP) currently used, the aspect of recovery for victims of sexual violence has not been regulated at all.

The purpose of recovery is compensation for perpetrators of sexual violence, government responsibility, government involvement, corporate involvement, and the community consisting of community leaders, regional leaders, religious leaders including ulama and religious organizations, and families.

For this reason, Bahrul considered, the PKS Bill was really needed for victims of sexual violence in Indonesia. Because so far victims of sexual violence are often traumatized because they do not get their rights in the form of certainty of getting justice, restoration, and certainty that traumatic events will not happen again.

Meanwhile, regarding the withdrawal of this bill from the 2020 Priority Prolegnas because of its difficult discussion, he considered it not the right reason. According to Bahrul, the reason behind the withdrawal of the PKS Bill from the 2020 Priority Prolegnas was due to the absence of political will for victims of sexual violence.

He also said withdrawals were clearly not a solution. Because as a member of the DPR RI, especially Commission VIII, should work hard to fulfill the promise of completing the carry-over bill this year. "Or divert the discussion to DPR organs such as Baleg which can discuss it more comprehensively," he said.

Director of the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) Erasmus AT Napitupulu also asked the PKS Bill to be included in the 2020 Priority Prolegnas and the discussion was immediately resolved. If the DPR surrenders for difficult reasons, then this means that victims of sexual violence do not get justice.

"The handling of victims of sexual violence is clearly complex and difficult, therefore it requires the role of the state. If the state surrenders due to difficulties, the victims will become victims for the umpteenth time," said Erasmus.

This discussion, he continued, needed to be done considering the lack of assistance for victims. Moreover, from the data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in 2018, the number of sexual violence cases recorded reached 5,513 cases consisting of 3,970 cases of sexual abuse and 1,288 rapes.

"However, access to protection for victims of sexual violence is very minimal. Based on the 2019 LPSK Annual Report, only 507 victims of sexual violence are protected," he said.

In addition, the discussion of the PKS Bill must continue because the state is considered to have neglected the recovery of victims of sexual violence. This is because the current government does not cover the financing of victims of sexual violence in health insurance.

"The government on September 18 2018 issued Presidential Regulation Number 82 of 2018 concerning Health Insurance which excludes health services for victims of sexual violence," he said.

"Based on the Perpres, wounds resulting from violence are not categorized as diseases," he added, adding that with the issuance of the Presidential Decree, the state no longer bears the cost of post mortem and medical treatment carried out by women and children victims of sexual violence.

The final reason is that there is no comprehensive mechanism related to the protection and recovery of sexual victims.

So that from a number of discussions, there should be no more reason for the DPR to postpone the PKS Bill. "The DPR must immediately guarantee the discussion of the PKS Bill, it must still be a priority," he concluded.