Ardito Ramadhan, Jakarta – The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) says that the number of reported cases of sexual violence against women in Indonesia continues to increase every year.
Komnas Perempuan Chairperson Andy Yentriyani revealed that based on the commission's records, every two hours there are three women who fall victim to sexual violence.
"Up until 2019, from the data that has come into the Komnas Perempuan, at least every two hours there are three women in Indonesia who become victims of sexual violence", said Yentriyani during a discussion with House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Puan Maharani at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Wednesday January 12.
"That's [only] the reported [cases], because we know many more women do not report their cases", she said.
Yentriyani said that they have also found that the number of rape cases which are followed up by the police is less than 30 percent of the total number of rape cases recorded by Komnas Perempuan.
Yet, said Yentriyani, there are still several other types of sexual violence which are not recognised under the Indonesian Criminal Code (KUHP).
Because of this, she emphasised the importance of immediately ratifying the Draft Law on Sexual Violence Crimes (RUU TPKS).
"Indeed, the obstacles, aside from those at a substantial level which we want to correct jointly through the RUU TPKS, are of course structural and legal problems in the legislation itself", said Yentriyani.
She continued saying that cases of sexual violence against women are also increasingly complex because the perpetrators are not just strangers, but are also people close to the victims.
"The discussions about a sexual emergency are actually also because of the limited capacity to deal with cases. Now, we hope that this capacity can be tackled, can be accelerated by the existence of the RUU TPKS", she said.
As reported earlier, Maharani has given assurances that the RUU TPKS will be approved as a DPR draft initiative next week.
"The DPR leadership will immediately follow up on the RUU TPKS in accordance with the existing mechanisms at the DPR. So God willing, next week on Tuesday, January 18, 2022, the RUU TPKS can be approved as a DPR draft law initiative", said Maharani during a DPR plenary session on Tuesday January 11.
The chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) Central Leadership Board explained that after it is approved as a DPR initiative draft law then the RUU TPKS can be immediately deliberated by the DPR and the government.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Komnas Perempuan Sebut Setiap 2 Jam Ada 3 Perempuan Indonesia Jadi Korban Kekerasan Seksual".]
