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Activists ask govt to address more than just sexual violence by child rapists
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Activists from the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) speak at a press conference at the presidential office. They said that many government policies on women actually discriminated against women under the banner of religion and sexuality. (ANTARA/*)
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span style="line-height: 1.6em;">Activists have called on Indonesian lawmakers to review the newly issued regulation in lieu of law on the sexual abuse of children to make it more comprehensive and inclusive of abuse of adults, rather than limited to the protection of children.
The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) said on Thursday the issuance of the regulation had been a hasty decision and an attempted quick-fix in response to the public outcry regarding the increasing number of cases of brutal sexual violence against children that have come to light recently.
Komnas Perempuan staff member Mariana Amiruddin has expressed concern that the government merely views sexual violence as an issue related to libido. Her criticism specifically concerns the controversial punishment of chemical castration that the government hopes will act as a deterrent for potential child rapists.
Castration, she asserted, was “completely irrelevant”. “Sexual violence is not just about libido because a sexual attack is more about aggression; similar to murder or other violent crimes," Mariana said on Thursday as quoted by kompas.com.
Sexual violence, Mariana said, should be seen as an attack on the concept of the human body through sexual acts, adding that chemical castration was not enough to address the issue.
She said sexual violence should also be viewed as gender discrimination, or gender-based violence, and not just a reaction [to an urge] or a purely sexual attack. Gender-based violence also occur in cases involving children, she added.
Mariana called for more attention be paid to adult women who became victims of sexual violence, since these “crimes against humanity” do not only affect children, she said.
A lawmaker has assured the sexual violence bill, which is to be deliberated at the House of Representatives Legislation Body, will not overlap the new regulation because the bill will encompass all sex crimes, not just those involving child rapists.
The lawmaker said the legislative body would continue to draft the sexual violence bill following the House's passing of the new regulation into law.
"Victims of sexual violence continue to increase year on year, with 50 percent of victims children and 50 percent adults. We need to rise up against this," said Supratman.
The regulation in lieu of law, known locally as a Perppu, that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo recently signed is designed only to assist with the protection of children, by modifying the 2002 Child Protection Law.
The Perppu provides for harsher punishments for perpetrators of sexual violence against children, included widened application of the death penalty and life imprisonment.
The regulation has also raised the minimum prison sentence for convicted child sex offenders to 10 years, up from three years previously.
The Perppu also legalizes other sanctions including, controversially, chemical castration for child rapists as well as the publication of the identities of convicts and microchips being implanted in their bodies to allow authorities to track their whereabouts after their release from prison.
Following Jokowi's issuance of the Perppu on Wednesday, it has now been submitted to the House to be approved and made into law. (liz/dan)
