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Activists call for swift implementation of sexual violence law
Rights groups are calling on the government to immediately prepare the law's implementing regulations.
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People march to mark International Women's Day in Yogyakarta on March 8, 2020, promoting the fight against sexual violence. (JP/Bambang Muryanto)
F
ollowing the passing of a long-awaited sexual violence bill into law earlier this week by the House of Representatives, rights groups are calling on the government to immediately prepare the implementing regulations.
Ratna Batara Munti of the Legal Aid Foundation of the Indonesian Women’s Association for Justice (LBH APIK) urged the government to immediately start a drafting process that ensures public participation.
"The government should immediately draft the implementing regulations and involve public participation in the formulation, particularly regarding the provisions for integrated services, handling and recovery, and restitution," Ratna told an online discussion on Wednesday.
LBH APIK is part of the Sexual Violence Women Victims Defender Network, which also includes Jakarta-based Jentera School of Law, Migrant Care, JalaStoria and the Sukma Foundation. The network comprises some of the many rights groups that persistently monitored the drafting and deliberation of the sexual violence bill.
In a statement, the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) also made a similar push for the government to immediately draw up derivative regulations so the newly passed Sexual Violence Crimes Law can be properly implemented.
In a House plenary meeting on Tuesday, lawmakers and the government approved a sexual violence law that contains 93 articles and 12 chapters, covering comprehensive procedures for the prevention and handling of sexual violence cases, as well as the recovery of victims.
The law received wide public praise for including progressive provisions for protecting victims of sexual violence, including the imposition of restraining orders on the alleged perpetrator. It also acknowledges the unequal power relations between victim and perpetrator.
