TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
The case of Agni and how institutions fail us
Social media has been flooded with commentary and opinions on the case of Agni, a pseudonym given to a Gadjah Mada University (UGM) student whose story went viral after Balairung, the university’s student magazine, published an investigative report on sexual assault allegedly committed by someone identified only as HS, her fellow community service program (KKN) student, against her last year.
Change Size
Sexual harassment. (Shutterstock/-)
S
ocial media has been flooded with commentary and opinions on the case of Agni, a pseudonym given to a Gadjah Mada University (UGM) student whose story went viral after Balairung, the university’s student magazine, published an investigative report on sexual assault allegedly committed by someone identified only as HS, her fellow community service program (KKN) student, against her last year.
The university officials reportedly cut short HS’ program and sent him back to Yogyakarta, but Agni said they also blamed her for the incident, with one official asking her to “repent”. Amid the trauma and suicidal thoughts she suffered after the incident, Agni received a “C”, which is below the minimum passing grade of “B”, for her KKN assignment because of the case that “embarrassed” the UGM.
As a result of her commendable journey for justice, Agni’s KKN grade has been recommended to be revised to A or B. But so far, it seems like there will be no further recourse; an interdepartmental investigation team formed by the UGM only recommended that the alleged perpetrator write an apology and attend a mandatory counseling session for sexual abusers.
The dean of the School of Engineering at the UGM even stressed that this case should have been resolved in a familial manner. The UGM seems to want to let the incident slide for the sake of its reputation, but Indonesians refuse to let this case disappear into thin air. A petition for a thorough investigation into Agni’s case was launched on Nov. 6 and, in barely two days, it had been signed by over 146,000 people.
