Indonesia’s parliament on Tuesday passed a long-awaited law against sexual violence paving the way for better access to justice for victims, after a jump in attacks against women during the coronavirus pandemic.
Indonesian women’s rights activists have for years condemned the lack of action against gender-based violence and sexual violence in a country where assaults are often seen as private and victims deterred from seeking justice.
Cheers and applause greeted the announcement by the speaker of parliament Puan Maharani that a majority of deputies had approved the text in plenary session.
“This law is a true manifestation of the country’s efforts to prevent all forms of sexual violence and to care for, protect and restore the victims as well as to bring them justice,” said Bintang Puspayoga, Minister of Women’s Empowerment and child protection before Parliament.
The law, which aims to combat sexual crimes and provide a legal framework for victims, including those of marital rape, has been in the works for a decade but has encountered many obstacles.
Islamic movements feared the text would allow for the liberalization of sexual relations, while conservative lawmakers demanded that the law make sex outside marriage and same-sex sexual relations punishable by law in the country with the largest population. Muslim in the world.
The law aims to prevent sexual violence and to help the victims, by granting them compensation and support.
Sexual assault within and outside marriage is now punishable by a maximum of 12 years in prison, and forced marriages, including those of minors, by a maximum of nine years in prison.
The dissemination of sexual content without the consent of the victims can be worth up to four years in prison.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo called on parliament in January to speed up the review of the law after the trial last year of an Islamic school teacher who raped 13 of his underage students, a case that marked the ‘public opinion.
But activists complain that the law does not include penalties for rape and forced abortions, covered by other texts.
The Southeast Asian archipelago has seen a jump in reports of violence against women since the start of the pandemic. The Commission on Violence Against Women reported 338,496 cases in 2021, a 50% increase from the previous year.